Patriots

‘How could this be happening?’ Man who paid $500K for Tom Brady’s final TD ball reveals identity

Spoiler alert: He would do it again.

By Tom Westerholm

April 19, 2022

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Just a few hours after Ron Firman bid more than a half million dollars on the final touchdown ball thrown by Tom Brady in the NFL, he got some bad news.

Brady was coming back. Unless something bizarre or disastrous happens in the next few months, the ball Firman bought is now worth no more than any other NFL game-used football.

“I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do and obviously I have a love for the game, I think I’ll always have a love for the game,” Brady told ESPN on Monday. “I do think physically I’ll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field.”

The NFL world was stunned — perhaps no one more so than the man who dropped $518,000 for what Firman believed was a piece of NFL history.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it,” Firman told Inside Edition. “Is this possible? How could this be happening?”

Firman — a commercial real estate developer in Miami — got lucky: The auction house voided the sale.

“Following Tom Brady’s un-retirement, and after discussions with both the buyer and consignor, we have mutually agreed to void the sale of the football,” the auction house said.

Firman won’t be afraid to wade back into the fray next season if the same scenario unfolds.

“If a wide receiver throws it into the crowd again, I’m going to be bidding on that ball again,” Firman told Inside Edition. “You can bet on that.”