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- Tom Brady’s “final TD ball” sold for over $500k at auction one day before Brady decided to unretire.
- The collector who won the auction reportedly refused to pay for the ball and the sale has now been voided.
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The unlucky collector who bought Tom Brady’s “final TD” ball for $518k is officially off the hook.
Back in March, a collector bought Brady’s last touchdown pass that was thrown during Bucs-Rams playoff game for $500k, believing that it would be from the Hall of Fame QB’s final NFL game ever.
Tom Brady’s last touchdown ball sold for $518,628 last night at @Lelandsdotcom. https://t.co/K3PkStY9pU pic.twitter.com/aQiUBPXrb8
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 13, 2022
One day after he bought the ball, Brady decided to unretire.
These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG pic.twitter.com/U0yhRKVKVm
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 13, 2022
According to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell, the collector refused to pay for the ball, and the auction house ended up deciding on voiding the sale.
A collector paid $518,000 for Tom Brady’s last touchdown ball.
Roughly 19 hours later, Brady unretired.
The buyer didn’t want to pay.
After a month, it has been resolved. https://t.co/XfKWWIw4ze
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 14, 2022
Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman, who represented the collector who originally agreed to buy the ball, told Action Network that auctioneer Lelands has agreed, per his client’s wishes, not to go through with the sale.
The ball, from the NFC Divisional Round playoff game in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams, sold on the evening of March 12th.
Brady unretired the next day.
Lichtman said when the winner of the ball heard that Brady had unretired, he was “genuinely mortified” and wanted the sale voided.
It helped that the buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, never paid. It also helped, Lichtman said, that Lelands clearly described it as Brady’s last.
Update: LeLands auction house released a statement revealing that the buyer and seller mutually agreed to void the sale. The seller still plans to sell the ball.
“Following Tom Brady’s unretirement, and after discussions with both the buyer and consignor, we have mutually agreed to void the sale of the football. The ball has not been returned to the consignor, and the plan now is for Lelands to sell it privately as per the seller’s wishes. There are multiple parties interested in purchasing the football.”