Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran quarterback Tom Brady is making records on the NFL field and off it. Brady's rookie card for the New England Patriots was recently sold to a fan for a record $1.32 million. FitBit CEO James Park, an avid sports card collector, bought the 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket card, which has a grade of eight and 10 on the signature. The said card was one of the 100 best rookie cards of Brady, who was taken 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Patriots. The card bought by Park edged the previous record of $861,000 paid for a Patrick Mahomes National Treasures autographed card.
Auction to wrap up on April 2
But another Brady rookie card is expected to set a new record for football cards when the auction being conducted by Lelands wraps up on April 2. According to Beckett Grading by Lelands, the card was encapsulated and graded NM-MT+ 8.5 with an autograph grade of 9. The card has sub-grades of centering 9.5; corners 8.5; edges 8.5; and surface 8, per a report by Rich Mueller of Sports Collectors Daily. As of now, the card, numbered 99 out of 100, has fetched a bid of $1,877,379. According to Mueller, the card's value could reach more than $2 million, a new record for any football card, when the auction wraps up April 2. Based on information from Lelands, Mueller said the card was purchased on eBay over a decade ago and has been stashed in a private collection since then.
"Over the next six days, we will be posting multiple auction highlights per day, with current bids, to spread the word as much as possible," Lelands said on its Instagram account.
Brady jokes he would clean out his garage
Brady's rookie cards' value skyrocketed after he led the Buccaneers to their first Lombardi Trophy following their 31-9 win over Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
After one of his rookie cards was sold for $1.32 million, the 43-year-old Brady posted on his Instagram a story about the said card with the caption, "Okay, I am definitely cleaning out the basement this morning." Brady recently signed a four-year contract extension with the Buccaneers that is essentially a one-year deal extension, allowing him to fulfill his initial goal of playing until he's 45 years old.
The Buccaneers recently brought back some of their key players who were expected to turn free agents. They are pass rusher Shaquil Barrett, defensive end Ndamukong Suh, linebacker Lavonte David, tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Chris Godwin. According to head coach Bruce Arians, he will ensure that the team will be complacent as they go for back-to-back Super Bowl wins. "I'm gonna beat the (expletive) out of them," said Arians, per Luke Easterling of USA Today.
