Piece of Priceless Tom Brady History Is in Kyle Rudolph's Office, Not Canton

While it's easy to think of memorabilia as something that only matters to fans, even professional athletes will hold onto some mementos. From photos to opposition jerseys swapped after the final whistle, even the tough guys of the NFL have room for a bit of sentimentality.

And, as an all-time legend of the game, Tom Brady probably has a bigger trophy room than most. His private collection, however, is missing one priceless piece: the football from his final regular-season touchdown pass.

What happened to the ball? Was it stolen in dramatic fashion? Tossed into the crowd and never seen again?

Nope, it was collected by the equipment manager, customized and given to tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Rudolph ended up with piece of Tom Brady history

Although the big tight end spent most of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, Rudolph eventually moved south and spent a season playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There, he lined up with Brady and tried to reach the top of the NFL mountain.

Although that never materialized—the former Viking suffered an injury in the regular-season finale and missed the Buccaneers' first-round playoff exit—things were still positive. Rudolph spoke about how playing alongside TB12 was a learning experience, even as a veteran, and even caught Brady's final regular-season touchdown pass against the Atlanta Falcons on January 8, 2023.

And while you might have expected that football to be in Brady's possession, his tight end actually kept it.

During a September 2023 Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), user yoshigronk asked the former Buc, "How did it feel when you realized you caught Tom Brady's final regular season touchdown pass? Did you end up keeping that football and displaying it somewhere in your house?"

Rudolph, it turns out, does have the ball, although it was customized to commemorate a different achievement.

"Actually a funny story about catching the last regular-season touchdown of the greatest quarterback of all time," he explained. "I have the ball, and I have the ball because it was also my 50th career touchdown. At the time, we knew it was my 50th career TD. We didn't know it was going to be Tom's last regular-season touchdown. I have the ball, our equipment managers painted it up and it says my name on it, and so that probably devalued it. That ball belongs in Canton, Ohio, and it's sitting in my office."

He also attached a photo of the ball, which, sure enough, mentions his touchdown catch. Brady's name is present, but only as the person who threw the pass.

The ball would be valuable if it ever hit auction

During his Reddit AMA, Rudolph mentioned that the ball had probably been "devalued" and "belongs in Canton" at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If he ever sold it, though, it would probably fetch a pretty penny.

We can look to a 2022 auction for context. What appeared to be Brady's final NFL touchdown—thrown during a postseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams—hit the block and sold for $518,628. There was a slight problem, though: Brady decided to return to play the 2022 season.

Once it became apparent that the legendary quarterback would in fact throw more touchdown passes, the sale was voided.

While that ball isn't a perfect parallel to Rudolph's—Brady threw two touchdown passes in the postseason after finding Rudolph—it's safe to assume that some value would carry over. This is, after all, arguably the greatest player in NFL history we're talking about. Even a 50 percent reduction will still mean the ball was worth more than $250,000.

And, who knows, maybe the personalization honoring Rudolph, rather than Brady, would only make it more valuable. Errors—like one listing a baseball player as a member of the National League rather than the American League—can make collectibles that much rarer. What's more unique than a legendary player's final regular-season touchdown pass personalized to honor a teammate instead?

As of now, though, the ball is safely in Rudolph's office.