Getty Image / Kevin C. Cox
- The football that was thrown in Tom Brady’s ‘last’ touchdown before his short retirement recently sold for $500,000 at auction
- That ball sold just hours before Tom Brady un-retired and now an expert is estimating the value plummeted 90% after Brady’s announcement
- Read more NFL stories here
The NFL just wasn’t the same without Tom Brady. He corrected a great imbalance in the universe by cutting his retirement short and coming back for another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The timing of Brady’s announcement couldn’t have been better for the Buccaneers who were able to make some quick re-signings after Brady told the world HE’S BACK. And the timing couldn’t have been worse for the person who bought Tom Brady’s ‘last’ touchdown ball at auction for $500,000.
As reported here on BroBible, the person who bought that TD ball must’ve felt sick after Tom announced he was coming back just hours later. I’ve been wondering what happens next for that person who bought the ball. I saw an insider on Twitter suggest they might just refuse to pay because the transaction occurred on the weekend and the wire transfer wouldn’t take place until Monday, something they could theoretically stop from happening.
But let’s assume they did send the wire transfer for $500,000 for the last touchdown ball Tom Brady threw in the 2021/22 NFL season. What is that ball worth now that Tom Brady is coming back and presumably throwing more touchdowns? He threw 43 TDs in the 2021/22 season, the most in the NFL. TMZ Sports spoke with someone they describe as an ‘auction expert’ who says it might be worth 90% less. But there’s a silver lining, they might not actually have to pay for it!
How Much Is Tom Brady’s $500K ‘Last’ TD Ball Worth Now?
Tom Brady’s unretirement just cost a collector a small fortune … with one auction expert telling TMZ Sports the QB’s “final” TD ball is now worth a mere $50K — after it sold for over $500K just three days ago.
In fact, our source tells us they wouldn’t be surprised if the ball was actually worth closer to $25K than $50K at this point. There is good news for the buyer, however … our source says it’s probably unlikely they’ll have to fork over the half mil for the ball.
Our source tells us the ball was advertised as Brady’s last TD ever — and now, since it won’t be, the buyer could have a legitimate claim to renege on the deal. Our source also says it’s likely the buyer is a whale in the auction world, and the auction house that sold the piece would almost certainly fight to keep him or her happy.
What’s next for Brady’s ‘last’ TD ball before his ‘first’ retirement?
If you had a bad gambling weekend, just remember you're not the person who spent $518K on Tom Brady's last TD ball
— br_betting (@br_betting) March 14, 2022
Given the option between backing out of that auction or spending $500,000 on a football that’s really more of a novelty than anything, I’d assume most people would back up. But anyone who is willing to spend $500,000 on Tom Brady’s last TD ball to begin with might be wealthy enough to actually care about the novelty of it being the ‘last TD ball before his first retirement’, a ball with an asterisk.
My first thought was hopefully (for that person’s sake) they could donate it to a museum at the $500K value and save some money on their taxes instead of being the butt of everyone’s jokes for years as the person who bought Tom Brady’s last TD ball (of that season) for $500K…