Super Bowl LV was over several weeks ago but Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has continued to make headlines after his signed rookie card for the New England Patriots was sold to a fan for a record $1.32 million. Per a report by TMZ Sports, Brady’s rookie card – signed 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket card – was sold by the online auction house, PWCC Marketplace, to FitBit CEO James Park, who is known to be a hardcore sports card collector. According to Chris Bengel of CBS Sports, the card has a grade of eight and a grade of 10 on the signature.
In a statement, Park said he’s excited to now own 1 of only 100 of Brady’s best rookie cards. He also said that the card is now considered an important piece of sports history, given Brady’s uncontested status as the greatest of all time (GOAT) in football. The PWCC also posted a photo of Brady’s card and Park’s statement on its Instagram account.
Brady has perfect reaction
After he got hold of the news, Brady then shared PWCC’s post on his Instagram story with the caption “Okay I am definitely cleaning out the basement this morning”, according to Nick Goss of NBC Sports. Brady has plenty of time on his hands as he is currently rehabbing from a recent knee surgery. The 43-year-old Brady admitted during an interview on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," that he went under the knife and is currently getting himself in shape for his second season with the Buccaneers after leading the team to its first Super Bowl win since 2002 following a 31-9 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Earlier, Brady announced that he will come back to the Buccaneers next season eyeing his eighth Super Bowl ring.
Other Brady card could make record profits
Brady’s card currently holds the record, in terms of selling price, after it beat the previous record of $861,000 paid for a Patrick Mahomes National Treasures autographed card.
However, the record could be broken in the next few weeks as ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren reported that there’s another Brady card being auctioned at Lelands that has a grade of 8.5. The card has fetched a bid of more than $700,000 with nearly a month remaining for bids. Just recently, Brady set a record for merchandise sales following his latest Super Bowl win.
It will be remembered that Brady’s entry into the NFL was unheralded after he was taken by the Patriots as the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. After serving as the Patriots’ fourth quarterback in his rookie year, Brady won the backup job to Drew Bledsoe in his second year. Brady then took over the starting job that year after Bledsoe suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 and the rest is history. In his 20 years with the Patriots, Brady carried the team to six Super Bowl victories in nine appearances.
