Does Tom Brady have the Midas touch?
The 45-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback announced his retirement on Wednesday with a pre-recorded video apparently shot on a public beach in South Florida. By Saturday, bids for a bottle of sand, purportedly from the same location in Surfside, were nearing $100,000.
And that’s only one bottle.
Other imitators soon followed on eBay, picturing bottles of sand in front of the same backdrop Brady was sitting in front of when he said he was retiring after 23 seasons.
Despite the market being flooded with Brady’s sand, the original artifact continued to soar in price – and bidding is expected to continue for another week.
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
Tom Brady (left) announced his retirement from a public beach in Surfside, Florida, where TikTik personality, betrcaroline (right), later filmed a short ad for a bottle of sand
The market for Brady’s sand was created by a TikTok personality, Betr Carol, who is trying to recoup some gambling losses.
‘I was a Tom Brady fan for a really long time and I’m actually sitting exactly where he retired this morning,’ Carol said in the self-shot video. ‘You can see the buildings, they’re the exact same.’
At that point, Carol reveals a bag of sand.
‘Every dollar I lost from betting on you this season, I will be making back because I’m going to sell the sand you sat on as you retired. So, thank you, Tom Brady.’
On eBay, Carol helps prove the authenticity of her jar of sand by photographing it in front of Brady’s retirement video backdrop. She also includes a copy of the February 1 edition of The New York Times to prove that the photos are recent.
On eBay, Carol helps prove the authenticity of her jar of sand by photographing it in front of Brady’s retirement video backdrop. She also includes a copy of the February 1 edition of The New York Times to prove that the photos are recent
Other imitators soon followed on eBay , picturing bottles of sand in front of the same backdrop Brady was sitting in front of when he said he was retiring after 23 seasons
The video he dropped on Wednesday morning was filmed at least a day before he put it on social media, although he apparently told the Bucs of his final decision at 6am on Wednesday morning – around two hours before posting his video to the world.
That’s according to ESPN and NFL Network, who claim sources close to Brady say he filmed his retirement announcement video ‘a while ago.’ Furthermore, the Boston Globe says Brady told his parents a week ago that he would retire.
They quoted his father, Tom Brady Sr. as saying: ‘We’re not shocked by any means. He has played football for 32 years out of his 45, living his dream for three-fourths of his life. It’s been a wonderful ride. He’s very secure in his decision.’
NFL Network’s Peter Schrager also tweeted on Wednesday: ‘Per sources close to Brady, the video posted this AM was filmed prior to this morning. Kept this one awfully quiet.’
Schrager expanded on the news on Wednesday’s episode of ‘Good Morning Football.’
‘That was filmed a while ago,’ Schrager said on the show. ‘He was at an L.A. premiere Tuesday night, doing the movie premiere [for ’80 for Brady’].
‘The sun is not up in L.A. as you see there. So that is a taping, that means he has known this and has kept this quiet for at least 48 hours.’
Brady posted the video announcing his retirement early Wednesday, saying: ‘Good morning guys. I’ll get to the point right away. I’m retiring, for good.
‘I know the process was a pretty big deal last time so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first.’
‘It won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year, so… really, thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me.
‘My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors. I could go over forever, there’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.’
Brady’s final season ended when him and the Buccaneers were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 in the NFL Wild Card round of the playoffs.
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