The football that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady threw for his first-ever touchdown pass will be auctioned. At the time of the pass, Brady was a member of the New England Patriots. The fan who caught the ball will be selling it through Leland’s auction.
The first touchdown from the future Hall of Famer came on October 11, 2001, when the Patriots played against the Chargers. It was Brady’s third game as the starting quarterback, after Drew Bledsoe was injured in the second game of the season. Brady was unable to record a touchdown pass in his first two games as a starter.
With four minutes remaining in the second quarter of the game, and the game tied at 3-3, the Patriots were at the San Diego 21-yard line. Brady took the snap and looked for his target, Terry Glenn, who was in the end zone. Glenn caught the very-first touchdown pass of Brady’s illustrious career. Glenn celebrated with teammates before taking the ball and throwing it into the crowd.
The ball fell into the hands of a long-time Patriots fan who wanted to remain anonymous. “It was a melee. I stood up on my seat, I pushed my buddy to my left,” the seller said. “The other two guys, I handed them my beer in a gentle way. I jumped up, tussled with a group of other fans around me and I came down with the ball.”
The fan then kept the ball in his house and held onto it. It wasn’t until the Patriots won the 2003 Super Bowl that he realized that the ball would become special. After New England won the Super Bowl, the fan put the ball in a safety deposit box at his local bank.
“It’s been a great thrill to own Tom Brady’s first career touchdown pass because he’s the greatest quarterback in NFL history, and he’s also my favorite player ever,” the unidentified man said in a Leland press release. “But now it’s time for someone else to enjoy it.”
The ball will be auctioned off, and the opening bids will start at $75,000. The auction will begin on Sunday.
