Wide receiver Mike Evans first threw the ball into the stands without realizing that an NFL milestone had been reached
Tom Brady became the first player in the history of the NFL with 600 touchdown passes this afternoon during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' home win over the Chicago Bears.
The historic pass ball had an adventure of its own.
Brady was greeted with a hug by head coach Bruce Arians after the play, but 600th touchdown recipient Mike Evans tossed the ball to a fan in the stands, unaware it was a ball. a new milestone until Arians told him.
"I told him, 'You're going to have to give that guy a couple of jerseys to get that ball back,'" Arians joked about what he said to Evans. "I told him, either you get two of Tom's jerseys [or two of yours] but you need to get that ball back for him. And he said, 'Do you really want that ball?' that ball.'"
A Tampa Bay team official eventually recovered the ball, giving the fan a spare. Also, the team gave the fan a $1,000 gift certificate for the club's official store, The Athletic reported.
"It was pretty great, I've got it in a bag over there," Brady said. "Mike gave it away. He was like, 'Man, I'm sorry. I'm going to get it back.' I said, 'Okay, they'll probably find a way to get it back.' But I don't actually keep a lot of stuff, so... In those circumstances, I felt it was a good one to keep."
"He's going to get something nice back. So we'll give him a helmet or a couple of jerseys or something else. That was pretty great of him to do that [give it back]."
According to The Athletic, the fan is from St. Petersburg, Florida, and his name is Byron Kennedy. The Buccaneers won the game 38-3.
A team source told ESPN that Kennedy, who was sitting in one of the headlines when Evans tossed the ball into the stands, will receive two Brady-autographed jerseys and helmet, one Evans-autographed jersey, and his Brady cleats. game.
The team will also give him a couple of season tickets for the remainder of the 2021 season, and all of 2022.
Brady himself revealed on the broadcast of "Monday Night Football" with Peyton and Eli Manning on ESPN that he also gave Kennedy a bitcoin.
Information from Jenna Laine was used in the writing of this story.
