The word “fan” is derived from “fanatic,” and few stories better exemplify those etymological roots than this one.
Tom Brady, the recently retired NFL quarterback, obviously accumulated quite a few devoted fans during a decorated 23-year career.
It’s easy to see why so many football fans gravitated toward Brady. The man knew how to win (despite some setbacks) — and did so at a historic clip.
Brady is the only player in NFL history to win seven Super Bowls, quite literally more championships than any individual NFL franchise.
But even given that, it’s hard to fathom spending six figures on sand that Brady may or may not have come into contact with.
To backtrack: On Wednesday, Brady announced his retirement via a video posted to social media:
Truly grateful on this day. Thank you ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/j2s2sezvSS
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2023
Eagle-eyed fans actually tracked down the spot where Brady recorded this video using the buildings in the background.
Helping those amateur sleuths was a report from the Miami Herald that confirmed that Brady recorded the video on “a Surfside beach, just over a mile from Indian Creek Village, where he and then-wife Gisele Bündchen bought property in 2020.”
One entrepreneurial fan used that information to track down the seaside spot and bottled up some sand.
That fan then posted it to eBay, where, as of this writing, the price has reached a whopping $99,900, with eight days still left to bid.
Of course, the idea caught on like wildfire.
One eBay listing for Tom Brady sand is sitting at $17,999.
Another bottle of sand is going for a cool $24,012.12.
A much more reasonably priced bottle of retirement sand is selling for “only” $2,000.
Brady, meanwhile, appears to have actually hung up the cleats after his faux retirement last year lasted only 40 days.
Waiting for him on the other side of his NFL career is a hefty payday from Fox, which Brady will join as a football analyst after signing a whopping $375 million contract.
Maybe Brady would be interested in buying some of his own retirement sand? With the way those prices are going, he will be one of the few people able to afford it.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.