The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Tom Brady have fulfilled their promise to the fan who returned Brady’s historic 600th career touchdown ball during the team’s 38-3 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 7 at Raymond James Stadium. Per a report by Rachel West of the Tampa Bay Times, Byron Kennedy received all the memorabilia promised by the 44-year-old Brady and the Buccaneers after he returned the ball given to him by wide receiver Mike Evans. Earlier, Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 600 touchdown passes after a scoring strike to Evans.
Unaware of the significance of the ball, Evans handed it to Kennedy, who was wearing the wide receiver’s No. 13 jersey in the stands.
After a brief negotiation, Kennedy handed the ball to a Buccaneers team official in exchange for some stuff. Brady and the Buccaneers gave Kennedy two signed Brady jerseys, a signed game-worn Evans jersey, signed Evans’ game-worn cleats and a Brady-signed helmet. The Buccaneers also promised Kennedy two season tickets for the rest of this season and all of next season. Brady also gave Kennedy a bitcoin worth $63,000 while tight end Rob Gronkowski and WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley added another $30,000 worth of cryptocurrency. “I didn’t expect it to happen,” said Kennedy, who could have earned around $500,000 to $750,000 if he sold Brady’s historic ball at an auction.
“I don’t think anything this cool is ever going to happen to me again.”
Brady talks about loss to Saints
In the latest episode of Brady’s Let's Go! Podcast with Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, Brady discussed the Buccaneers’ 36-27 loss to division rival New Orleans Saints on Sunday, where he threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns but he committed three turnovers, including a pick six that cost them the game.
Brady admitted that even though he has played football for more than 22 years including high school and college, he had a hard time sleeping following a loss. “God, I got an hour’s sleep, and the way we lost was tough,” said Brady.
Brady focused on getting better
Despite this, Brady said that he learned not to point fingers after a loss and instead look forward on how to get better.
"Whenever you lose, you got to point the finger at yourself. It's not the referees," said Brady, who admitted that he’s always complaining to the referees. But he won’t blame the referees for their latest loss that dropped the Buccaneers to 6-2, saying it was all about the team’s performance. “It's about what we need to do to improve, and I think that's the best way to handle a loss,” he added. The Buccaneers have a chance to regroup as they have a Week 9 bye before they return to action on Nov. 14 against the Washington Football Team.
