With a few seconds to go to extinguish the first quarter clock, Tom Brady became the first player of all time to reach 600 touchdown passes. Brady ran into the end zone to congratulate Mike Evans who caught his delivery. A few seconds before, Evans as is his tradition, gave the ball to one of the fans who came to Raymond James Stadium without remembering that that piece of leather belonged to a showcase in the NFL Hall of Fame museum or one of the shelves where Brady keeps part of his treasures.
Byron Kennedy, 29, is a Buccaneers fan. On Sunday morning, he dressed in an Evans jersey, unaware that it would become national news by getting a gift thanks to his privileged front-row spot. Kennedy got the historic ball from Evans only to have to give it up a few minutes later.
Mike Evans accidently gave Tom Brady’s 600 TD game ball to a fan and they worked the entire break to try to get it back from the fan.
Tony Romo suggested they’ll give the fan a date with Gisele ????????pic.twitter.com/oIYu1xmcdu
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 24, 2021
Although the ball already belonged to him, Kennedy decided to return it when a staff member of the Tampa Bay organization approached him to retrieve the ball.
According to information from CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson, Byron Kennedy received another ball and a signed jersey from the Bucs.
Byron Kennedy is the fan who returned the ball In exchange for another ball and a signed jersey, the fan returned the ball with which Brady reached 600 touchdowns.
@Buccaneers
Broadcast announcers Tony Romo and Jim Nantz immediately expressed their discontent by saying “that’s bad business!
And they were right. In times when sports memorabilia can be priced in millions of dollars, some specialists estimated that the ball could have been sold for 600 thousand dollars.
At the end of the victory against the Bears, Brady was questioned about the ball.
“That was really cool. I got it in the bag over there, Mike Evans gave it away and said, ‘Sorry I’ll get it.’ I said okay, I’m sure they’ll find a way to get it back. I don’t actually keep too many things, although in that circumstance I felt it might be a good option, “Brady replied.
Kennedy was interviewed by the Tampa Bay Times and noted that he was hesitant to return the ball, but ultimately did so out of the respect he has for Brady.
The Buccaneers issued a $ 1,000 certificate to the fan who presented a collector’s item valued at 600,000. Bad business for many.
Evans’ mistake ended up not being so costly thanks to Kennedy’s good heart and low ambition.
Eventually the ball returned to the hands of Brady, who remains the face of the NFL.
