Tom Brady's 'final' career touchdown ball sells for over $518,000 at auction

By Issy Ronald, CNN

Updated 1151 GMT (1951 HKT) March 14, 2022

Tom Brady in action passing against the Los Angeles Rams at Raymond James Stadium on January 23.

(CNN)Tom Brady's 'final' career touchdown ball has sold for $518,000 at auction, according to the auction site Lelands.

Two days after the auction closed, however, the 44-year-old quarterback announced that he would be returning for his 23rd season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, following a six-week retirement. The $518,000 ball featured during the Buccaneers' home playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams on January 23. Brady threw the ball 55 yards to wide receiver Mike Evans who scored a touchdown to cut the Rams' lead to seven, 27-20, with 3:20 left to play in the game. Despite their comeback from 27-3 down, the Bucs eventually lost 30-27.Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans catches what was thought to have been Tom Brady's last NFL touchdown throw ever — until Brady came out of retirement on March 13.Immediately after the game, Brady was still uncertain about his future playing career. When he announced his retirement a week later, it gave the ball extra significance as it became what was then considered his final career touchdown ball. Read MoreRather than being preserved in a museum, the ball had reached the public domain because Evans had tossed it into the stands in celebration where it was caught by a lucky spectator. Lelands used marks and numbers on the ball to photo match it and verify its authenticity. Last year, Lelands also auctioned Brady's first career touchdown ball for $428,841 which was similarly tossed into the stands by the receiver who caught it, Terry Glenn. In between engineering these two touchdowns, Brady won seven Super Bowls — an