- Buccaneers fan Byron Kennedy was handed
Tom Brady 's 600th career touchdown ball by Mike Evans. - Kennedy gave the ball back to the Buccaneers in exchange for some other souvenirs.
Buccaneers fan Byron Kennedy had himself quite a Sunday.
Watching from the front row of the end zone at Raymond James Stadium, Kennedy had a great seat to watch Tom Brady connect with Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans in the first quarter to give Tampa Bay a 21-0 lead over the Bears.
That's when things got wild.
As he celebrated his touchdown, Evans found Kennedy in the stands and gave him the touchdown ball. Kennedy was recording the moment on his phone.
-Byron Kennedy (@yohoitsbo) October 25, 2021
Unbeknownst to Evans nor Kennedy at the time was the fact that that ball happened to be the 600th touchdown throw of Tom Brady's career, making him the first quarterback in
According to one estimate, the ball could have gone for as much as $500,000 or more at auction.
On the sidelines, Evans realized that he had accidentally given away a piece of NFL history and couldn't hold in his embarrassment.
-NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) October 24, 2021
A Buccaneers trainer came over to negotiate with Kennedy and eventually retrieved the historic ball.
Over the broadcast, the deal reported was for a signed jersey and a different, far less historic game-used football. Kennedy also received a $1,000 gift card to the Buccaneers team store.
Fans watching at home followed the negotiations as they played out in real-time.
-NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) October 24, 2021
While some fans believed that Kennedy got the short end of the deal, speaking with the Tampa Bay Times, Kennedy seemed at peace with the agreement he had come to with the Buccaneers.
"Getting the ball was really cool. I don't normally sit in the front row, so I've never gotten a ball before," Kennedy said. "Giving it up was tough. The trainer came over and asked for it. But what am I going to do? Say no to Tom Brady?"
"He asked for the ball back. I didn't really need the ball. It was cool, I got to hold it, take pictures with it. And then Tom Brady wanted it, so I gave it back."
For what it's worth, Kennedy didn't give the ball up without a bit of pushback.
"I told the trainer no twice, but finally I said yes," Kennedy said. "He said Tom Brady really wanted it."
-Sports by Tampa Bay Times (@TBTimes_Sports) October 24, 2021
On Monday, Kennedy added one more request to his potential reward for giving the ball back to Brady - a round of golf with the GOAT.
-Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 25, 2021
Ultimately, giving the ball back was probably the right move by Kennedy, negotiating tactics aside. Like he said, it's tough to tell Brady no, especially as a Buccaneers fan who is still basking in the glow of a Super Bowl title that would not have been possible without Brady.
On Monday, Greg Auman of The Athletic gave a full rundown of Kennedy's impressive return in the trade.
-Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 25, 2021
Still, Kennedy likely could have gotten more for the ball had he held out just a little bit longer.
Here's to hoping that he gets his round of golf.