A Champion’s Collection: Tom Brady on Selling his Watches and Memorabilia

I n collecting, as in sport, timing is crucial. They are both games of talent, preparation and chance. If you don’t bid today, will you have the opportunity again? The timing of the release of items from a collection, though, often requires even greater decisiveness and carries stronger emotional charge. For many collectors, from blue-chip behemoths to those with passions in other fields, the move is executed once their career has entered its twilight.

Tom Brady is not that guy. At 47, the legendary former quarterback of the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has more irons in the fire than ever, not least as the part-owner of no fewer than five sports teams: the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, England’s Birmingham City, the Women’s NBA’s Las Vegas Aces, the Major League Pickleball’s Las Vegas Night Owls club and Team Brady of E1—a new all-electric powerboat racing series. The seven-time Super Bowl champion retired, after one false start, less than two years ago, and has already taken on a clutch of new challenges, including debuting this September as an expert commentator for the NFL on Fox Sports. His collections are similarly alive, evolving and—on the fine art front—growing, as he continues to intersperse works by Richard Prince, George Condo and Jean-Michel Basquiat among the family photos on the walls of his Miami home.

Brady is also making the tough call to let go of more than 40 items of memorabilia and watches linked to his career on and off the field. The sports items encapsulate highlights from his 23 professional seasons, from the shirt he wore during the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2000 to the ball with which, in 2021, he set another NFL record with 80,560 passing yards to his name. This is almost unheard of for a sportsman of Brady’s caliber, especially while virtually still warm from the field. So what is his motivation?

The move to Florida after signing with the Buccaneers in 2020, prompted reflection: “I kept everything for so long—when I got to Miami and moved into my house, I wanted to sort through and see everything I had.” The items begin in the years that he spent from 1995 to 1999 with the Wolverines at the University of Michigan.

In characteristic fashion, Brady’s last game with the team, as a fifth-year senior at the 2000 Orange Bowl, was the best performance of his college career. The Wolverines were pitted against the Alabama Crimson Tide and, at the end of regulation, the teams were tied at 28, leading to the first Orange Bowl game ever to reach overtime. Brady scored the winning touchdown, unlocking a 35-34 triumph.

He sees his jersey as speaking to the longer journey, leading up to the game and since. “What’s amazing about a jersey is you wear it all season,” he tells me. “It has blood, sweat, tears and incredible memories embedded in the fabric. My Orange Bowl jersey is particularly special to me. This win and performance springboarded me into a 23-year NFL career, now broadcasting and hopefully NFL ownership. Looking back, this was the defining moment in my college career.”

After this burst of greatness, Brady’s rise was meteoric. Next came the 2000 NFL Draft, at which he was a sixth-round pick for the Patriots. During ESPN’s segment on the event, resident draft expert Mel Kiper said: “[Brady] throws a very catchable ball.” It was an enormous understatement. Joining as their fourth-string quarterback, Brady led the Patriots to a 20-17 victory in Super Bowl XXXVI and became the youngest quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP at the time. Today, he holds the record for the most passing yards, completions and touchdowns in NFL history.

The shirt worn while running the 40-yard dash at the draft—another full of memories—is included in the sale, alongside the jersey worn at the 2002 Pro Bowl. “Getting recognized by your peers to play in the Pro Bowl to me was setting a different standard,” he says. “You are recognized as one of the best players in your position and being rewarded for the time and energy that goes into your career.” He went on to play at 14 more Pro Bowls and holds the record for most selections to the game, one of endless accomplishments that Brady has achieved in his career.

Underpinning his success is hard work, a strict regime and investment in teamwork. Another item in the collection speaks to the final point—Brady’s quarterback play-call wristband with the Patriots’ plays from Super Bowl LI in 2017, when the team triumphed against the Atlanta Falcons. Down 28-3 at halftime, the Patriots recovered to win the game in the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.

More than most will realize, watches have been a big part of Brady’s journey. “Over the years, I’ve figured out what my style really is, and it doesn’t have to be what everyone else wears,” he says. His collection is no secret—in 2020, alongside singer John Mayer and LVMH Luxury Ventures, the group’s venture capital arm, he invested in Hodinkee, the influential e-commerce platform for new and vintage watches—but many will not know how early his interest began.

“My parents bought me an Omega when I graduated high school,” Brady says. “It’s a significant event to receive your first watch.” Explaining his early collecting aspirations: “I thought that when I made it in the NFL, I’d buy myself a nice watch. At college, my screensaver was an IWC GST Automatic alarm. It wasn’t until I won my first Super Bowl in 2002 that I went to Tourneau on 57th Street in New York and I bought that watch, as well as a Panerai Luminor Marina and an IWC Rattrapante. I still have those watches now.”

This makes the release of one of his most publicly known watches—a custom Audemars Piguet Royal Oak worn for the Netflix special, “The Roast of Tom Brady” in May 2024—even more special. The salmon-dialed wrist piece came into Brady’s hands in the most unusual way: “My friend [former Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias] texted me out of the blue and said, ‘I want to create something for you. Why don’t you work with my friend and designer at Audemars Piguet, Michael Friedman, and figure out what you want to come up with?’”

They started with the dial, then Bennahmias encouraged Brady to add a diamond bezel to create a true one-of-one. “At the time, I was like, ‘We’re not doing that,’” Brady says. “He convinced me to do it, and I wore it for the Netflix roast, which was such a fun event.” Access to one of the world’s finest watchmakers is quite rare, even for those with his stature.

Ironically, there have been times in recent years when far more basic customizations were not possible. Brady signed with the Buccaneers in March 2020. “I couldn’t get a helmet made because it was during Covid.” he recalls. His solution to practice on a local high school field was to remove the Patriot decals from an existing helmet. “I laugh when I see that helmet. I wore it for an entire off-season, and it was a big part of the end of my playing career.”

With the next chapter in mind, Brady is editing his treasure trove. “I’m not the first person to say this, but as you get older, you understand that time is everything,” he reflects. “Where you put your energy is a direct reflection of your values.” Choosing items has been tough, and there is much he will never part with. Pressed on his most-prized item, he answers instantly: “My Super Bowl LI jersey: It signifies the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. To me, it’s the grail of all pieces, and will be in my collection forever.”

But Brady also has generosity as a focus, a desire to share with the fans who have supported him. “I’m signifying a step out of my playing career, and recognizing that others will cherish these items the way I value the ones in my collection,” he explains. “This is the only time this will happen, so hopefully people will take advantage of the opportunity to put something so meaningful of mine into their own collections.”

“The GOAT Collection: Watches & Treasures from Tom Brady” will be held on December 10 at Sotheby’s New York.

_{Cover image: Two of Brady’s jerseys. The red was worn for his 2002 Pro Bowl debut, the white for the 2000 Orange Bowl, his final game for the Michigan Wolverines.}

Upcoming Auction

The GOAT Collection: Watches & Treasures from Tom Brady

10 December 2024 | 7:30 PM EST | New York