Byron Kennedy may be the worst negotiator of all time.
We’re talking worse than whoever in the Washington Redskins organization signed Albert Haynesworth to a $100-million contract only to trade him two years and 6.5 sacks later.
If you don’t know who Byron Kennedy is, he’s the lucky Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan who was given a game ball by receiver Mike Evans after a touchdown in this weekend’s game.
But it wasn’t just any ball: It was the ball that Tom Brady threw for his 600th career touchdown – the first player in NFL history to reach that milestone.
After Evans spotted Kennedy wearing his jersey in the front row, he tossed Kennedy the ball, not realizing its significance – or its worth.
The Bucs then had to try to get the ball back from Kennedy, engaging in some intense negotiations that had Tony Romo speculating that he may even be able to get a date with Gisele out of it.
Experts have estimated that the ball was worth at least $500,000, and possibly up to $750,000. So Kennedy had a LOT of negotiating power here as he held his half-million dollar souvenir in his hands.
The two sides were eventually able to work out a deal though, for a LOT less than half a million dollars.
So what did Kennedy get out of it?
Two signed jerseys and a helmet from Tom Brady, a signed Mike Evans jersey and his game cleats, a $1,000 credit to the Bucs team store, and two season passes for this season and next.
Now I don’t know what Tom Brady signed jerseys or Mike Evans game cleats are going for these days, but you’ve gotta think it’s a helluva lot less than $500,000.
Well Tom Brady was pretty appreciative of Kennedy for giving him the ball back, saying that he doesn’t keep much memorabilia but that this is one he wanted to keep for himself.
Brady was a guest of Peyton and Eli on tonight’s Monday Night Football Manningcast, and he revealed that he’s also throwing in a little something extra for Kennedy: A Bitcoin.
That definitely sweetens the deal (and lessens the pain) a little bit, with Bitcoin currently sitting at $62,000 after reaching an all-time high of over $66,000 last week.
Now I’ll admit, I don’t really understand a whole lot about cryptocurrency, but it just keeps going up, so who knows how much Kennedy’s Bitcoin will be worth in the future. (Or it could be worthless in a few years, who the hell knows).
Either way, Kennedy seems at peace with the trade – and he seems like a pretty cool dude for not holding Brady’s piece of history hostage.
Shoutout to Tom Brady and the Bucs for taking care of this guy, even after they had already secured the historic football.
Not a bad haul for a day at a football game – even if it’s not $500,000.
