Game-worn Tom Brady jerseys were on offer at a Sotheby’s auction of the athlete’s memorabilia Tuesday, but it was the ex-quarterback’s watches that brought in the highest bids.
The timepieces accounted for $4.6 million of the $9 million in sales from the auction.
The top lot of the sale was a rare yellow gold 1969 Rolex Daytona Paul Newman “John Player Special,” which sold for $1.1 million. Brady wore the watch during halftime of the New England Patriots’ 2023 home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was feted by the crowd at Gillette Stadium. It was during the halftime celebration that Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced Brady would be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame the following June.
The New York auction had over 800 bidding participants from 45 countries. Titled “The GOAT Collection: Watches and Treasures from Tom Brady,” the auction had more than three dozen timepieces, as well as jerseys representing highlights from Brady’s collegiate, professional and post-NFL careers.
A recently worn item was a Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet watch that the Fox NFL analyst wore during Netflix’s live roast event this past May, which sold to an online bidder for $720,000. According to the auctioneer, the watch was a custom design for the former quarterback as “the dial replaces standard indices with his name set in calibré-cut and baguette diamonds, with the number seven in Roman numerals symbolizing his seven Super Bowl victories. Through the sapphire crystal case back, a custom rotor bearing Tom Brady’s signature is visible.”
Beyond the timepieces, winning bidders landed mementos from big moments in Brady’s playing career. The second-highest selling item of the sale was the jersey from his final game at Michigan in 2000—a 35-34 overtime victory over Alabama in the Orange Bowl—which netted $792,000.
The white Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey he wore when setting the NFL’s all-time career passing yards mark in 2022 sold for $502,000. Brady broke the record in New England against his former team with a 28-yard toss to Mike Evans.
One item that likely no Atlanta Falcons fan would ever want, the wristband the QB wore in Super Bowl LI while leading the Patriots in the biggest comeback in the game’s history, sold for $204,000.
Brady isn’t hurting for money, thanks to his mammoth deal with Fox as its lead analyst, among other deals and investments. He was also officially approved as a minority stakeholder in the Las Vegas Raiders in October, though it came with restrictions on his analyst job. Not all of his business ventures have panned out, notably in crypto and NFTs, but he recently picked up a win by capturing another championship as a team owner in electric boat racing.
