Update: The unfortunate soul who bought a football at auction billed as Tom Brady's "last" touchdown pass won't have to shell out more than $500,000 after all. Hours after the winning bid was placed, Brady announced he was un-retiring and would play again. Now, CBS Sports reports that the sale of the ball has been declared null and void after an agreement among the seller, buyer, and Lelands Auctions. Our original story from March 13 follows:
It was supposed to be the football from Tom Brady's final career touchdown pass. But hours after it sold at auction for $518,628, the once and future Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback announced he would, in fact, be at least attempting to throw more touchdown passes before his career actually comes to a close. Yes, Tom Brady un-retired not before but after the auction facilitated by auction site Leland's had already closed, USA Today reports. An unidentified buyer scored the winning bid for the football that traveled 55 yards during the Buccaneers' Jan. 23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional round.
"Tom Brady is the GOAT and his final NFL TD pass football is one for the ages,” said the director of acquisitions at Leland's before the sale. “It’s incredibly ironic that both his first and last ever touchdown pass footballs were tossed into the stands." He estimated that "the lucky person in the crowd who caught Brady’s final career TD pass ball" would make more than $1 million from the sale. Meanwhile, for those wondering what the end of Brady's un-retirement tweet ("Unfinished business LFG") means, that's "let's f***ing go," which the Focus notes is a catchphrase of Brady's. Tweeted sports journalist Josina Anderson, "Text from #Bucs head coach Bruce Arians to me on Tom Brady returning: 'LFG.'"
story continues below
Arians also released an official statement on Brady's return, as cited by the AP: "Tom Brady loves to play football as much as anyone I have ever been around," he says. "As Tom said, his place right now is on the football field. He is still playing at a championship level and was as productive as anyone in the league last season. We are ecstatic that he decided to continue playing and working toward winning another championship." The team is reportedly hoping tight end Rob Gronkowski, whom Brady convinced to "unretire" himself and come play for the Bucs with him in 2020, also returns. (More Tom Brady stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
