TAMPA, Fla. – Tom Brady’s retirement announcement last Wednesday morning sent collectors diving headfirst into eBay to purchase his football cards, memorabilia, jerseys, and whatever else. Again.
Though the football from Brady’s final touchdown pass to Cameron Brate with two minutes to play in the Bucs’ wild card loss to the Cowboys is not on the market – Where is it? – plenty of items were selling and selling briskly in the immediate aftermath of last week’s video announcement. (A $518,000 Leland’s Auction sale of the Brady/Mike Evans “final” touchdown ball from last year’s divisional playoff game against the Rams was voided after Brady came out of a brief retirement.)
According to eBay Marketplace data, sales of Brady’s rookie cards from 2000 increased more than 500 percent in a three-day period following the posting of his beach video. Speaking of the beach, sand from the video location found its way on eBay, and from multiple accounts that have the same photo of a jar of sand. Buyer beware.
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While none of the cards sold on eBay come close to the seven figures a few of Brady’s professionally graded rookie cards attracted at various auction houses over the past couple of years, a 2000 Playoff Contenders autograph graded 8.5 (card) and 10 (autograph) by Beckett Grading Services sold Monday for $37,500.
Not all rookie cards required taking out a second mortgage. For example, a 2000 SkyBox Dominion card Brady shares with Giovanni Carmazzi, who never attempted a pass in the NFL after being selected by the 49ers in the third round and 134 spots ahead of Brady, fetched $80.
Conversely, many rookie cards attracted four figures and a handful five figures. In other words, Brady rookie cards of all varieties and prices were moving and moving fast.
The same could be said of Brady’s jerseys, which experienced a 488 percent uptick in sales. Like the rookie cards, a variety of jerseys sold, whether it was a $25 Nike youth jersey or a few grand for a signed and framed Patriots or Bucs jersey sold by Fanatics through the eBay platform.
While we’re at it, a handful of Raymond James Stadium grass from Brady’s final game is also available on eBay. The seller had somebody take a picture of him in the act of grabbing a clump of grass.
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