The quarterback broke records on Sunday night — but a historic memento of his achievement nearly ended up being given away.
Tom Brady made history on Sunday night after his 600th touchdown — becoming the first-ever quarterback to achieve this milestone.
There was just one problem: his teammate then gave the ball to a fan, blissfully unaware that the memorabilia could one day be worth an estimated $900,000.
Byron Kennedy, the kind-hearted fan, quickly ended up returning the ball… and now, he’s being rewarded handsomely for doing so.
Not only has he been given another ball from the game, but he’s also received a signed jersey, a helmet, game cleats, a $1,000 credit that can be spent at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers official store, and passes so he can watch every game between now and the end of next season.
Brady has now sweetened the deal even further by giving Kennedy a whole Bitcoin — a prize that’s worth more than $60,000 in and of itself.
The lucky fan was all too aware of what he was giving up when he handed over the ball, but added:
“I knew how much it meant to Tom and I was willing to trade.”
And speaking on Monday Night Football, Brady quipped:
“Byron lost all his leverage when he gave up the ball. He should’ve held it. [But] I’m also giving him a Bitcoin, so at the end of the day, I think he’s making out pretty well.”
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Buccaneer Loves Bitcoin
Tom Brady, now 44, is an NFL legend — and his passion for cryptocurrency is also well-documented.
Last month, the star said that he would “love” for a portion of his salary to be paid in digital assets — listing Bitcoin, Ether and Solana at the top of his wishlist.
Brady added that a number of other athletes feel the same — and said he can “definitely see a world where players are going to be paid in cryptocurrency in the future.”
Of course, there’s nothing to stop the NFL quarterback from converting his salary into crypto once cold hard cash lands in his account… and by the sign of things, he’s already taking advantage of this.
Reports suggest that Brady is being paid $50 million by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the course of two seasons — and that’s before his multimillion-dollar endorsement deals are taken into account.
