The bond between New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Tom Brady grew $120,000 closer Tuesday night during the Sotheby’s and Fanatics “Holy Grails” auction.
With his former quarterback sitting by his side, Kraft placed the winning bid on a Brday 2000 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket Autograph, the second of four Brady cards up for auction.
As the story goes, the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft first introduced himself to Kraft with a pizza box under his arm at the old Foxboro Stadium, telling him, “I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.”
From that moment on, or perhaps, from the moment Brady led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory after stepping in for Drew Bledsoe, Kraft has displayed an unwavering loyalty to the quarterback
The feeling is mutual, clearly, considering Brady was apparently comfortable with comedians taking shots at everyone — including his children and ex-wife — other than Kraft during the “Roast of Tom Brady” on Netflix. At one point, Brady stood up and approached Jeff Ross after the comedian made a massage-related joke, a reference to Kraft’s scandal involving a solicitation charge from a massage parlor in Florida, telling him in no uncertain terms Kraft was off-limits.
It appears their relationship has also outlasted and outshined that of Brady and Bill Belichick, a duo which earned legendary status over two decades as the coach and quarterback dominated the league while winning six Super Bowls together.
This purchase came during the inaugural partnership between Fanatics and Sotheby's, a major play for Fanatics to gain access to high net worth clientele. A long-time supporter of Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, Kraft played an integral role in advocating for Fanatics to win the rights to a number of NFL exclusive deals.
Kraft, as well as the NFL, is an investor in Fanatics.
There's also the relationship between Rubin and Brady. No athlete on the Fanatics roster has provided the brand with more consistent support as an A-list face at branded events.
Fanatics also has an exclusive autograph deal with Brady, which was presumably on display during the auction.
Another lot came with Brady’s signature, which he provided for a card marketed to have provenance of the "TB12 Collection."
With Brady retired and trying his hand in the broadcast booth, and Kraft saddled with a subpar team, the 83-year-old multi-billionaire opted for the next best thing. If he couldn’t buy Brady’s services on the field, at least he could buy a memory of the good old days in the form of a piece of cardboard emblazoned with his signature.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.