No Sale: Tom Brady Touchdown Auction Ball Intercepted

Following perhaps the most unlucky of auction breaks in sports history, justice has prevailed

David Harrison | Apr 16, 2022

After former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady seemingly retired in February of this year, it became apparent his final touchdown pass had been thrown to Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans against Los Angeles Rams cornerback, Jalen Ramsey.

Two Super Bowl champions and one soon-to-be were involved in the play, and the ball was sold by popular sports memorabilia auction house Lelands, for over half-a-million dollars.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady

Mike Evans, Jalen Ramsey — Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (No. 13) catches what was at one time thought to be Tom Brady's final touchdown pass in a Hall of Fame career.

The scoring pass was scored with Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey (No. 5) in coverage.

Less than 24 hours later after the auction, Brady was back. Announcing he'd be returning to the Buccaneers for the 2022 NFL Season, looking to win one more Super Bowl Champion before - maybe - calling it quits.

As people tend to do, the masses immediately started to take a small amount of impersonal enjoyment in the bad fortune of the individual who had just dropped about $140,000 more than the average cost of a home in America for a football you can buy on Wilson's website for $150.

Of course, the one you buy there won't have been thrown by the greatest quarterback of all time. And certainly not for a touchdown in what was almost one of the best comebacks in NFL Playoff history.

Turns out the buyer never actually moved any money in the transaction, and now, won't have to.

"We wanted to do the right thing here," said Lelands president and partner, Mike Heffner. "It's the most unique situation that we'll probably ever encounter in our lifetimes -- at least when it comes to sports memorabilia. We're still not to the end of the book yet; we've written a chapter."

Former New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady

I'm sure the buyer is happy to have reached this resolution, and according to the auction house the owner of the ball still plans on selling it, but I'm sure they're expecting to reach less than the more than $500k it originally went for.

So everyone gets a do-over, and if you found yourself wondering what it'd be like to have a piece of sports history like Tom Brady's last touchdown ball on your mantle, you just got a real-life expense estimate, and about ten months to collect the funds.

Start saving.

Published Apr 16, 2022

DAVID HARRISON