Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady made history as the first signal-caller in NFL history to throw 600 touchdown passes, accomplishing it in their 38-3 win over the Chicago Bears at Raymond James Stadium. The 44-year-old Brady almost lost the historic ball after wide receiver Mike Evans gave it to a fan wearing his No. 13 jersey in the stands. Luckily for Brady and Evans, it was 29-year-old Byron Kennedy who got the ball.
At first, Kennedy was hesitant to return the ball, which can command a price of $500,000 to $750,000 at an auction, but he was convinced by a Buccaneers employee to return it in exchange for some goods.
Kennedy displays goods he received from Buccaneers
The Buccaneers promised Kennedy two signed jerseys and a helmet from Brady, a signed Mike Evans jersey and game-worn cleats. The Buccaneers also promised Kennedy a $1,000 credit at the Buccaneers’ team store, two season passes for the remainder of this season and next season. In addition, Brady gave Kennedy a bitcoin worth around $63,000 while tight end Rob Gronkowski added $30,000 worth of cryptocurrency.
On Friday, Kennedy decided to show off the goods he received from Brady and Evans on his Twitter account with the caption “Thanks for the badass gear to decorate my house with @TomBrady, @MikeEvans13_, @Buccaneers”, per Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports.
A separate Instagram post by ESPN also revealed what Brady wrote on his signed jersey for Kennedy. “Byron, can’t thank you enough. You are the man,” Brady wrote on the jersey. Evans, for his part, wrote “you the man. God bless!”
Could Beckham land with Bucs?
Per a report by Luke Easterling of USA Today, the Cleveland Browns have released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who has expressed his intention to play with Brady in several occasions. But is there a chance that Beckham could land with the Buccaneers this season.
Per Easterling, Beckham joining the Buccaneers would make sense because the team has some banged-up receivers in Antonio Brown at Scotty Miller. But there are hurdles before the Buccaneers can get their hands on Beckham. The biggest problem would be the waiver wire, where the Buccaneers are at the bottom part of the priority list so multiple teams can claim Beckham via waiver wire. Also, Easterling said that Beckham cannot get a bigger target share with the Buccaneers, who already have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The Buccaneers are currently on their bye week and will face the Washington Football Team in Week 10. The Buccaneers currently lead the NFC South with a 6-2 record but they are just half-a-game ahead of the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with a 36-27 loss to the Saints in Week 8.