Tom Brady’s retirement made many fans cry, back in 2023. And the manner in which it panned out, perhaps was not fitting for a player of his stature. When he announced his decision, nobody could actually believe it, including his own teammate and tight end, Kyle Rudolph.
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Brady’s final regular-season touchdown was a moment Bucs fans remember well. That touchdown pass, however, was caught by Rudolph. And by sheer luck, that was also his 50th career TD.
Unfortunately, as the tight end explained, he may have devalued the ball by marking it as his milestone — not Brady’s. Why? In his defense, and rightly so, no one knew it would be Brady’s last TD pass in a regular-season game.
“So, I [kept] the ball. We were actually talking about it out there on the floor, and I probably devalued one of the most valuable balls in history,” said Rudolph via the Pardon My Take podcast.
“It was my 50th-career touchdown, that’s why I kept it. [But] I had no idea that [would be] Tom’s last regular-season touchdown. I don’t think anyone did… I caught the ball knowing it was my 50th.”
Rudolph then went on to explain how he gave the ball to the equipment manager, who wrote ‘Rudolph’s 50th career TD’ on it. He also noted that the ball had ‘from Tom Brady’ written on it.
While Rudolph’s 50th career touchdown ball carries some value, there’s no question it wouldn’t compare to how much Brady’s final regular-season touchdown pass ball would be worth.
Regardless, given the number of records Brady made and broke throughout his career, he likely wouldn’t care about a single ball not being in his name. Brady will also be a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Rudolph, too, had an outstanding career. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, was named to Pro Bowls, and recorded 482 receptions, 4,773 yards, and 50 touchdowns. Like Brady, Rudolph retired after the 2022 season.
