Mike Evans has certainly made a habit of giving away important footballs in Tom Brady’s life. Following an earlier incident where he accidentally gave away Brady’s 600th career passing TD football to a fan, Evans also tossed his final TD pass into the stands following Tampa’s 27-20 playoff loss to the Rams.
To be fair however, Brady had yet to announce his retirement meaning the wideout had no way of knowing that his 55 yard catch and score would wind up being the last of Brady’s illustrious career.
The fan who caught the ball immediately consigned the item and scored a massive payday in the process. Lelands auction site announced that the historic ball had been sold for $518,000, following 23 bids on the item.
The ball from the former Patriots QB’s first career touchdown pass to Terry Glenn sold at the same site last year for $428,841. The Bucs fan likely had a little more motivation to part with this item however, as rumours that Brady could potentially be mulling a comeback have been making the rounds in NFL circles in recent weeks.
While it would still be a cool souvenir, the ball would almost certainly lose most of its value if Brady were to suit up and throw another TD pass in his career. This uncertainty likely led to a smaller than expected figure for the ball, as many insiders estimated that the ball could go for over $1M at auction.
The winning bidder, who has yet to be identified, could ultimately have themselves a steal at half a million dollars, or be stuck with a relatively worthless piece of pigskin should the NFL legend come back for another year.