(Bloomberg) -- Tom Brady’s latest record-setting attempt will take place off the field and inside an auction house.
On December 10, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and current Fox Sports broadcaster will sell 47 pieces from his collection of watches and sports memorabilia at Sotheby’s New York. The pieces will be sold in a stand-alone evening sale the auction house has named “The GOAT: Watches and Treasures from Tom Brady.”
“I’m excited to give fans and collectors a chance to own and cherish these special pieces from my journey just like I have,” said Brady in a statement. “I hope they bring as much joy and inspiration to fans as they did for me!”
The sale will include 27 watches, which carry an overall estimate of approximately $3 million to $6 million, and 20 sports items, which are estimated to sell for roughly $3 million to $5 million. “This is the right time for him to be selling,” says Richard Lopez, a senior watch specialist at Sotheby’s. “The watch market is strong for single-owner consignments, he has unique pieces, and he just wants to share them with the world right now.”
What’s for Sale
Several lots will appeal directly to football fans, including the jersey Brady wore during his final college game for the University of Michigan during the 2000 FedEx Orange Bowl. That jersey has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. Similarly, the white shirt Brady wore during the 2000 NFL Combine carries a $100,000 to $200,000 estimate. A helmet Brady wore during the 2021-22 season playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is estimated to sell between $100,000 and $150,000.
Other items will appeal to a broader, albeit no less affluent, audience. A watch by Richard Mille, the 35-03 “Baby Nadal” (so named because it was made in collaboration with Rafael Nadal) is estimated to sell between $300,000 to $500,000. A highly sought-after rose gold Patek Philippe Nautilus, which Brady has owned since 2017, is estimated between $180,000 and $240,000.
There’s also a custom-made white gold Royal Oak watch by Audemars Piguet that was designed specifically for Brady; the dial features his name set in baguette diamonds, along with the number seven, which symbolizes his seven Super Bowl victories. (Notably, Brady wore it during his notorious Netflix roast.) That watch carries a $400,000 to $800,000 estimate.
Unique Market Moment
The sale comes at a unique moment in the rare watch and collectibles market. Watch sales have slumped as luxury goods consumers have pulled back, particularly in China. Sports collectibles sales are down significantly as well: Six-figures sales in the second quarter of this year are down 27% year over year, according to a report by Altan Insights. Even the Brady market isn’t as frothy as anticipated. Last year his final game-worn Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey sold for $1.4 million, failing to clear its $1.5 million to $2.5 million pre-sale estimate.
But Sotheby’s specialists say that demand for subcategories in the market remains robust. “In the game-used collectible market—in other words, what an athlete put on their body and went into battle with—that market actually is very strong right now,” says Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles. “In regards to that specific market, I can tell you that if you look at any market comps, you’ll actually see rising prices pretty much across the board.”
Brady’s auction, Wachter continues, has an added allure: It features material that comes straight from the man himself. “To have something like [the Combine shirt] that’s coming directly from Tom, and not coming from somewhere else in the secondary market, is an interesting market dynamic to watch play out,” Wachter says. In that context—and compared to the $1.4 million game-worn sale last year—Wachter says the estimate for his final game-worn college jersey “is actually conservative.”
Lopez echoes that sentiment. The overall watch market may be down at the moment, he says, but watches with celebrity provenance are still flying off the auction block. He cites the Paul Newman Rolexes that sold for about $1.1 million apiece last year, and “we just had Sylvester Stallone do the same thing in our June sale, where his watches performed extremely well,” Lopez says. “It was a testament to the quality of watches he had, and who they’re from. So I think it’s the perfect time” for Brady, Lopez continues. “Everybody knows he’s the GOAT.”
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