Watch: Buccaneers fan Byron Kennedy gets his due for returning Tom Brady's 600th TD ball
When Tom Brady tossed his 600th touchdown pass to Mike Evans late in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears, the receiver gave the ball to Byron Kennedy, a lifelong Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.
Evans didn't know that the ball he gave away was "the" ball that Brady secured a place in history with. Shortly after realizing it, a Tampa Bay trainer went over to Kennedy and negotiated to get the ball back for Brady.
After initially saying no twice, Kennedy then relented and gave the ball back. While some have said he could have got more than $500,000 for the ball had he sold it, Kennedy said he couldn't say no to Tom Brady.
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Kennedy would then go on NFL Network and give a list of what he would like in return for giving the ball back, and for the most part, he got what he wished for. The only thing he didn't get was a round of golf with Brady, but the Tampa Bay quarterback gave him a Bitcoin as a thank you, which more than makes up for the no golf.
Buccaneers fan Byron Kennedy gets his gifts for returning Brady's 600th TD ball
It may have taken a few weeks, but the Buccaneers stuck to their word and gave Kennedy a serious haul of jerseys, cleats and helmets, all signed. Speaking to Rachel West of the Tampa Bay Times, Kennedy detailed exactly what he got from the franchise:
"So I've got two Tom Brady jerseys, these are new jerseys, he signed them. One says Go Bucs, Super Bowl 55 champs and then he signed it. This is the one i am going to give to my buddy who brought me to the game. Then I got a second Tom Brady jersey, this one says Bryon, I can't thank you enough man, with Tom Brady signing it, so obviously that is the one I am going to keep."
He added:
"Then we have the helmet, Tom Brady signed it and it says Go Bucs. Then we have a Mike Evans jersey, this is actually the one he wore at the Eagles game and he wrote on the back of this one, to Byron you're the man, God bless. Then Mike Evans signed cleats that he wore in the game too (against the Bears). So these are three touchdown-catching cleats, including the historic 600th touchdown ball". You can watch the full interview below.
Kennedy certainly got his worth for giving Brady back his record-setting ball and said he wouldn't change anything about what happened. He has done quite well with all the merchandise and a Bitcoin that Brady gave him.
It looks like a great decision to go to the Buccaneers/Bears game, after all, thanks to his buddy. Byron will be at every Buccaneers home game for the rest of this season and next as he receives season tickets to go with all the jerseys. Talk about an impressive collection of memorabilia.
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