Two months. Two cards. $5.3 million. One player.
The rise of Tom Brady’s most sought after rookie card reached new heights over the weekend when one of the 100 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket Autograph cards sold for $3,107,372 in the Lelands Classic Auction.
It was the highest price ever paid for a football card in a public auction, breaking the record set by another Brady card sold by Lelands in April for $2.25 million.
The most recent sale was for a slightly higher graded card—a Beckett Grading Mint 9. It was a higher graded example (a BGS MINT 9) than the specimen of the card (a BGS NM-MT 8.5) that Lelands sold earlier this year. There are only seven of the BGS MINT 9 examples in existence, with none graded higher.
The market for Tom Brady rookie cards appears insatiable with many higher grade examples continuing to bring strong prices on sites like eBay as well.
“Brady is the GOAT and continues to break records both on and off the playing field,” stated Lelands Director of Acquisitions Jordan Gilroy.
One of 31 BGS 9.5 examples of Brady’s 2000 Bowman Chrome Refractor rookie card was also offered in the Lelands auction and sold for $123,483.
There was Brady-o-bilia, too. The ball thrown by Brady for his first career touchdown pass nearly 20 years ago sold for $428,842. It happened on Oct. 14, 2001, in a home win against San Diego, when the 24-year-old Michigan product connected on a 21-yard strike to wide receiver Terry Glenn. The consignor of the ball was the Patriots fan who caught it after Glenn tossed it into the stands following his touchdown celebration.
Bidders also chased a 2007-08 Exquisite Collection Rookie Parallel #94 Kevin Durant three color patch autographed rookie card (25/35 BGS MINT 9 – Auto 10) that wound up selling for $750,000 and the glass plate negative from the Charles Conlon photo used for one of Babe Ruth’s 1933 Goudey cards that netted $113,220.
Complete results can be found here.