The Sotheby’s x Fanatics Live Auction wrapped up on Tuesday evening, with more than a few eye popping numbers doled out for highly sought after cards. However it was both the price tag, and the buyer himself who made news as the sale for a 2000 Tom Brady Playoff Contenders rookie card wrapped up.
When all was said and done, it was none other than New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft who submitted the winning bid for the signed copy of his former QB’s card at $120,000.
The card itself, which was given a 9.5 Gem Mint grade by Beckett Grading Services, also received a 10 grade for the autograph. With so few copies of the card being produced (remember, Brady wasn’t exactly a “can’t miss prospect” at 199th overall), and no known copies receiving higher grades, the card represents one of the best rookie-auto cards for the future hall of famer in existence.
“It is among the highest condition copies of the card ever certified and, at the time of cataloging, no other example of this card has been graded higher by Beckett,” Sotheby’s said of the card.
Three other Brady rookie cards were also auctioned off on Tuesday, bringing in a staggering $813K combined. Previously a “Championship Ticket” parallel numbered out of 100 of the same card sold for $3.1M at auction back in 2021, setting a new record for Brady memorabilia.
Also sold Tuesday was a 2018 Topps Sapphire Superfractor of Shohei Ohtani ($336K), a 1955 Topps Roberto Clement rookie which brought in $840K, and a LeBron James 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite collection rookie patch ($432K).
The first collaboration between famed auction house Sotheby’s and Fanatics raked in over $7M in sales, marking a positive start to their newly forged relationship.
Photo: Sotheby’s auction house.