Remember when Tom Brady retired from the NFL last winter? Well, before he became un-retired a few weeks later, the football that Brady used to throw his “final” career touchdown pass was sold to a Brady fan by Lelands Auctions, less than 24 hours before Brady said he was coming back.
The winner spent $518,000 on this football, which lost most of its value when Brady did an about-face on his retirement 40 days after announcing it.
The auction house decided to void the buyer, consigner, and auction house agreement. Here’s whatLelands president Mike Heffern said.
“We wanted to do the right thing here. 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.”
What’s interesting is that even though Brady will play again this fall, that football is still technically the one used for his final touchdown pass until he throws another. So it still has some value, and there are people who want to buy it now that it is available again. The balls consigner is planning on selling it privately through Lelands.
Here’s more from Heffner.
“All parties were waiting to see how it played out. Tom Brady, let’s face it, is kind of unpredictable these days. Until he throws that first touchdown pass in September, this ball is still the record.”
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