Sand From Beach in Tom Brady Retirement Video Auctioning for $99k+
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Tom Brady announced his retirement from football for the second time on Wednesday, revealing that he plans to hang up his jersey “for good” after a decorated 23-year career. This time around, the seven-time Super Bowl champion did so with much less fanfare, simply posting a video of himself at the beach, where he made a brief statement.
However, given that Brady will leave the NFL widely recognized as the greatest player in history, retiring “normally” is basically out of the question. That was clearly evidenced by the fact that the very sand from which the 45-year-old announced his decision on Wednesday appeared on eBay shortly thereafter and is already commanding a hefty price.
One eager entrepreneur listed a jar of sand from the supposed exact spot on the Florida beach where Brady revealed his retirement this week. The price has already skyrocketed up to over $99,000 with 122 bids in place as of Saturday morning.
According to the Miami Herald, Brady made his announcement from Surfside Beach in Miami. The person who listed the jar of sand for auction claimed that the sample was collected just hours after the legendary quarterback posted the video.
The eBay seller even assured prospective buyers that the unique merchandise was legitimate by providing photographic evidence of them standing in front of the same background that appeared to be in Brady’s retirement video. The individual even took a picture of them holding an issue of the Feb. 1 edition of The New York Times to try and further corroborate the sand’s authenticity.
“You will find no other listing like this,” the seller wrote on eBay. “No one else took a sample on Feb. 1 after the GOAT posted his real retirement. You will be owning the very land the GOAT retired on.”
After first listing the sand at $677 in honor of the total number of career touchdowns that Brady scored, the price has obviously skyrocketed, but time might be growing short for interested buyers to place their bids. The auction is set to end on Feb. 12, the day of Super Bowl LVII, at 2:43 p.m ET.
SI Cover Stories: Brady’s Super Bowl victories:
- Feb. 3, 2002/SB XXXVI: Patriots Stun Rams Behind Their Transformed Coach and Oh-So-Cool Quarterback
- Feb. 1, 2004/SB XXXVIII: Brady, Patriots Fight to the Finish to Beat Carolina
- Feb. 6, 2005/SB XXXIX: Brady, Bill Belichick, Pats Win Third Super Bowl
- Feb. 1, 2015/SB XLIX: Despite Controversies, Patriots, Brady End Title Drought
- Feb. 5, 2017/SB LI: Brady Seals Status As Greatest Quarterback of All Time
- Feb. 3, 2019/SB LIII: With History Hanging in the Air, Brady, New England Win Again
- Feb. 7, 2021/SB LV: Brady Does It Again, This Time With the Bucs
