Byron Kennedy, a Buccaneers’ fan, is receiving royal treatment after giving back the ball that marks Tom Brady‘s 600th career touchdown pass.
On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Chicago Bears with a convincing 38-3 thrashing. The scoreline, while impressive, was not even the second most discussed topic regarding the game. Brady’s touchdown pass, and Kennedy gifting the TD ball back to Brady were the highlights. The 44-year-old threw a nine-yard pass to wide receiver Mike Evens with 10 seconds left in the first quarter and made history. One lucky fan got his hands on the ball but gave it back to Brady without truly considering its worth.
Kennedy was originally promised autographed memorabilia and season tickets in return for giving up the ball. Is that all that ball was worth? Definitely not. It’s likely that in the heat of this joyous moment Kennedy had not realized the gold he possessed within his hands.
Brady appeared on Monday Night Football with the Manning brothers to talk about the moment. “Byron lost all his leverage when he gave up the ball, said Brady jokingly to the two former Super Bowl-winning QBs. “He should have held it,” he quipped.
This ball truly means the world to Brady – he was the first NFL quarterback in history to complete 600 TD passes. In light of Kennedy’s kindness in that moment, Brady has decided to gift Kennedy something special. “I’m also giving him a Bitcoin, so at the end of the day, I think he’s making out pretty well,” Brady said
Here is a final list of gifts awarded for the TD ball: a Bitcoin — worth around $60,000 at the moment — as well jerseys and a helmet signed by Brady, cleats and a jersey signed by Evans and season tickets. The fan that sat next to Kennedy will be kicking himself that he had not competed a little harder to grab that ball.
