[imagesource: Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports]

Manchester United fans would have noticed Tom Brady in attendance at Old Trafford for Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Spurs.

37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo banged in a hat-trick to help his side secure a 3-2 win, and after the match, the two met on the pitch for a quick chat.

Compared to the 44-year-old quarterback, Ronaldo is a spring chicken and has made it clear that he wants to carry on for another few years.

Brady, who is almost certainly the greatest player of all time (most Super Bowl appearances (10), most Super Bowl wins (7), most touchdown passes in league history (624), most passing yards (84,520), and so on) announced his retirement from the NFL on February 1 of this year.

The ball used in the 624th and final of those touchdowns, scored by Mike Evans, was auctioned off this past weekend and went for a whopping $518,628 (around R7,8 million).

Image: Lelands

It’s a piece of history, you know. In years to come, it will probably be worth far more than that.

Except, just hours later, Brady announced he wasn’t quite done:

These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG pic.twitter.com/U0yhRKVKVm

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 13, 2022

Do auctions come with receipts and you can return them like you can send back Takealot goodies?

Nope, but there is a chance the buyer might get a sports memorabilia mercy ruling. Here’s The Tampa Bay Times:

Though the identities of the buyer and seller remain anonymous, the dilemma has stoked natural curiosity over whether the auction house will let the buyer off the hook.

Experts in the auction and sports memorabilia industries believe it will. Lelands spokesman Adam Miller said the company has no comment at this time.

“These auction houses, their reputation is very important to them,” said John Osterweil, whose south Tampa-based business provides sports and celebrity memorabilia to silent/live auctions at charity events around the nation.

“Although Lelands sold it in good faith, since (Brady’s return) happened within 10 seconds basically after they sold it, I would think that Lelands — for their reputation — would not want to take the person’s money.”

Here’s an idea – why doesn’t Tom Brady buy the ball from the person? He’s set to earn around $25 million for his 23rd (and final?) season.

Another website familiar with sports memorabilia sales said Lelands may well void the sale. In addition, invoicing from weekend auctions is often only done on Monday, by which time Brady had already ‘unretired’.

Even if the auction winner doesn’t have to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars for the ball, they may still be disappointed that they no longer own the ball used for Brady’s final touchdown pass.

As this NFL season draws to a close, I anticipate some ugly bunfights over balls tossed into the crowd after Brady throws.

[source:tampabaytimes]