Returning Tom Brady's 600th Touchdown Ball Likely Cost Fan Six Figures, Expert Says
Tom Brady threw his 600th career touchdown pass on Sunday, and a fan came close to keeping it for himself. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans caught the touchdown pass against the Chicago Bears in the first half and then gave it to a fan wearing his jersey. The Buccaneers had to negotiate with the fan to get the ball back, but according to move auction expert Ken Goldin, the fan missed out on half a million dollars.
"Given how historic this ball is as the first 600th TD in NFL history," Goldin said per TMZ Sports, "I'd estimate this ball to be worth a minimum of $500,000 (and possibly much more)." The Tampa Bay Times talked to the fan in the middle of the game and was told that Brady really wanted the ball.
"The trainer came over and asked for it," the fan said. "What am I going to do? Say no to Tom Brady?" After the game, Brady talked about the incident after the game and assured everyone that the fan was going to be rewarded for giving the ball back to him since it was something he didn't have to do.
"That was really cool. I got it in the bag over there," Brady said, per ESPN. "Mike gave it away. He goes, 'Man, I'm sorry, man. I'll get it.' I said, 'It's alright. I'm sure they'll find a way to get it back.' But I don't actually keep too many things so ... in that circumstance, I just felt like that might be a good one to keep. He's gonna get something nice in return. So we'll get him a helmet or a couple jerseys or some other stuff. That was really cool of him to do that."
The 600th touchdown ball is worth a lot since Brady is the first player in NFL history to reach that mark. Last year, Brady passed Drew Brees to be the NFL's all-time leader in career touchdown passes. Brady is one of the four players in NFL history to throw for at least 500 touchdowns. He's one of 13 players in NFL history to have at least 300 passing touchdowns. Along with being the all-time passing touchdown leader, Brady has the record for the most passing yards in NFL history with 81,479.