Former NFL great Tom Brady sells $9 million worth of watches, football items at auction

Tom Brady sold a slew of watches and pieces from his legendary football career at auction – and the items fetched $9 million all together, according to Sotheby's. 

Dozens of items owned by the retired NFL quarterback went under the hammer at Sotheby’s on Tuesday evening, ranging from luxury designer watches and Super Bowl cufflinks to game-worn jerseys and football shoulder pads.

"The GOAT Collection: Watches and Treasures from Tom Brady brought a total of $9 million at #SothebysNewYork tonight, with all 41 lots sold," the auction house said early Wednesday morning on X. "The white-glove sale attracted more than 800 participants from 45 countries, with 40% of participants under the age of 40."

Prior to the auction, Sotheby’s had estimated the pieces in the "GOAT Collection: Watches & Treasures from Tom Brady" collection collectively fetched over $6 million. 

"I’m signifying a step out of my playing career, and recognizing that others will cherish these items the way I value the ones in my collection," Brady said in an October statement ahead of the auction. "This is the only time this will happen, so hopefully people will take advantage of the opportunity to put something so meaningful of mine into their own collections." 

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The football apparel that went up for grabs came from both Brady’s time with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as his college football career.

One of the auctioned jerseys was donned by Brady as then-Buccaneers quarterback notched a new NFL record for all-time passing yards during a 2021 game against the Patriots. Brady put the football from that game up for auction too. 

Sotheby’s said those went for $504,000 and $216,00, respectively.  

Meanwhile, Brady’s play wristband from the Super Bowl LI game that he and the Patriots won against the Atlanta Falcons had an estimated $120,000 to $180,000 value ahead of the auction. Its winning bid was $204,000.

The retired NFL star also included the pair of Nike cleats he wore for Super Bowl XXXIX between the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. The shoes sold for $264,000, per Sotheby’s. 

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Jerseys worn during Brady’s time at the University of Michigan, including one from his 1999 appearance at the CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl, went under the hammer.

That navy blue Bowl game jersey was projected to bring as much as a quarter of a million dollars, according to the auction house. During the auction, it notched $264,000.

In addition to the football-related items, there were numerous watches in the "The GOAT Collection: Watches & Treasures from Tom Brady."

Their brands included Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Rolex, IWC, Richard Mille and Tudor.

One of the watches –  a Reference 6241 Daytona Paul Newman "John Player Special" – was expected to bring $600,000 to $900,000 at auction but ended up going for a whopping $1.14 million, according to Sotheby’s.

The auction house described that Rolex as the "centerpiece" of Brady’s watch collection. Its case contains 14 karats of yellow gold.

Only a "small handful" of the watch are believed to exist, making it a highly-coveted timepiece, according to Sotheby’s. 

Brady fans with deep pockets that admired the special Reference 26730BC Royal Oak Audemars Piguet that the retired NFL quarterback donned during Netflix’s "The Roast of Tom Brady" also had a chance to scoop up the timepiece. The comedy roast, which Netflix aired live in early May, notched 22.6 million views by the end of June, according to a September report from the streaming giant. 

Brady’s custom Royal Oak "replaces standard indices with his name set in calibre-cut and baguette diamonds, with the number seven in Roman numerals symbolizing his seven Super Bowl victories," according to the watch’s listing at Sotheby’s. 

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Its pre-auction projected sale price was $400,000 to $800,000. Sotheby's said someone bought it for $720,000.

Outside of watches, Brady was also looking to part ways with the bright orange and pink "DunKings" tracksuit set from the hit Super Bowl ad that Dunkin’ aired this year. 

Well-known actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who also appeared in the commercial, have both signed Brady’s tracksuit, according to the auction house. 

Brady’s auction of the array comes nearly two years after he announced his plans to retire from the NFL. During his career, Brady played 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and three with the Buccaneers. Six of his Super Bowl wins were with the Patriots, one was with Tampa Bay.

"I really thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me," he said in a social media post announcing his retirement. "My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors … I can go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream."

Editor's note: this article has been updated to reflect the results of the auction