Tom Brady super fan Phil Jones, apparently, has locked in a bank vault in Manchester, England his will, a house deed and a rookie Tom Brady memorabilia card.
Jones spoke to ESPN's Connor O'Halloran about his love for collecting sports cards and how he grew to become a big Brady and Tampa Buccaneers fan. While on a trip to Florida during the 1999 Orange Bowl, Jones watched from his hotel room as Brady threw four touchdowns in Michigan's comeback win over Alabama. He started to take a liking to the future seven-time Super Bowl winner.
The following season, he came across four Brady rookie cards at a memorabilia event in the lead-up to Super Bowl XXXV. Brady was not a household name at the time, and Jones was able to buy the cards for $6.
One of those cards was a non-numbered 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady RC rookie card. A similar card yielded close to $50,000 online in October. However, high returns for cards that aren't graded or numbered are a rarity.
In April of last year, a Brady rookie card sold for a record $2.25 million. Jones has tried to get his card insured but has been unable to do so, thus the card remains in the vault.
"I find it quite sad," Jones admitted to O'Halloran. "I love to get them out and have a look at them."
Jones is an avid NFL fan, having gone to a dozen Super Bowls, his last being Super Bowl 50 in 2016. He has kept the tickets to those Super Bowls to cherish those memories, and he explained that is why he has his various NFL and soccer cards.
"Some of my cards are worth a lot of money, but I buy them because I like them, or because I think 'I remember him, he scored that or did that, so I'll get a card of him," Jones said. "It could be worth nothing, but it's just for me."
Brady cards continue to be auctioned off at high prices. Jones was asked what his plans are with his memorabilia.
"I don't know what I'll do with them," Jones said. "They're my memories."
For the time being, they'll remain in the Manchester bank vault as Brady continues to add to his Hall of Fame career.
