Fan Trades Tom Brady Football For Bitcoin, Season Tickets, More

The fan who came into possession of Tom Brady’s 600th career touchdown pass won’t walk away empty-handed after promptly giving the football to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The man is being compensated with a package worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Moments after Mike Evans caught the historic touchdown in Tampa Bay’s eventual 38-3 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Bucs’ wide receiver handed the ball to a fan in the stands before realizing it was a milestone souvenir for his quarterback.

Byron Kennedy, the lucky fan who came into possession of the football, handed it over to the Bucs upon request, leaving many to question why he didn’t hold out for a large sum of money.

On Monday, it was reported that Kennedy would receive two signed Brady jerseys and a helmet, a signed Mike Evans jersey and game cleats, a $1,000 credit to Tampa Bay’s team store and two Bucs’ season tickets for both this season and the 2022 campaign.

Brady then made sure Kennedy would get more than just memorabilia and tickets. The quarterback used his partnership with FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, to give the fan a bitcoin, which is worth more than $62,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. The football has been estimated to be worth at least $500,000.

“Byron realized he lost all his leverage once he gave the ball away,” Brady said jokingly to Peyton and Eli Manning on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” simulcast. “He should have held it to get as much leverage as possible.

“I think it worked out pretty well. ... I am also giving him a Bitcoin, which is pretty cool too. At the end of the day, I still think he’s making out pretty well.”

Brady finished Sunday’s game with an NFL-record 602 career touchdown passes with 10 games remaining in the 2021 season. Drew Brees is second all-time with 571 touchdowns.