Weeks after one of his 2000 rookie cards sold for a record $1.32 million, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady set another mark for the most expensive football card on Friday. According to Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report, Brady’s autographed card -- a 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket – was brought for $2,252,855 in a Lelands auction Friday night. Per a report by Sam LaFrance of ABC6, the value of Brady’s rookie card is more than the veteran quarterback’s base salary for the upcoming season. After Brady restructured his deal to give the Buccaneers enough salary cap room to sign free agents, he is set to make just $1,075,000 for the 2021-22 NFL season.

It was Darren Rovell of Action Network HQ who first broke the news about Brady’s record football rookie card.

According to Daniels, the rookie card of Brady, who was selected 199th overall by the New England Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft, has obtained an overall grade of 8.5 from Beckett Grading Services. The overall grade means that it is near-mint condition while the autograph was labeled a 9. According to Lelands, the card was purchased on eBay over a decade ago and has been tucked away in a private collection since then.

Lelands added that the card was one of only a handful ever offered for sale, labeling it as No. 99 out of 100. After his rookie card was sold for $1.32 million, Brady reacted to the news by saying that he will clean out his garage. The price of Brady's cards skyrocketed after he won his seventh Super Bowl ring.

Bucs GM gives update about Brady’s surgery

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht earlier provided an update on Brady’s recovery from an offseason knee surgery, per Jenna Laine of ESPN. Based on his talk with Brady last week, Licht said the surgery, which was described as “minor surgical procedure" was successful and the veteran quarterback is progressing "very well".

“I don't want to put an exact timeline on it right now because I don't want to set expectations one way or the other, but I know that things are going very well,” said Licht. When asked last February about the timetable in Brady’s recovery, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said the quarterback could be ready for 7-on-7 work by June. Brady recently signed a four-year contract extension with the Buccaneers that is basically a one-year contract extension because of the three voidable years. The deal would allow the 43-year-old Brady to accomplish his earlier goal to play until he’s 45 years old.

Bucs exercise Vita Vea’s fifth year option

According to Licht, the Buccaneers also exercised the fifth-year option on the contract of defensive lineman Vita Vea, their 12th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, per Luke Easterling of USA Today.

The Buccaneers earned the dividends of using their 12th pick on Vea as he emerged as one of the league’s most dominant nose tackles, and a key piece of Tampa Bay’s destructive defensive front. The move will cost the Buccaneers just over $7 million in cap hit for 2022.
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