A U.S. Flag that flew above Gilette Stadium (then known as Foxborough Stadium) back in 2001, as Tom Brady was taking over as the Patriots starting QB, is officially up for auction with a whopping starting price of $299K!
The flag has an interesting history, however, as it was the centerpiece of a lawsuit just last year. Dan Vitale of New Hampshire, the owner of the flag, had handed it off to the Patriots Hall of Fame to proudly display the prized possession but it all went south when improper mishandling of the flag by Patriots officials heavily damaged Tom Brady’s original signature. All was not lost, though, as TB12 re-signed the flag in big, black ink last year following a Buccaneers vs. Seahawks game. Vitale believes the piece could now be worth as much as it was before its mishandling, a staggering $1 million – maybe even more.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Behavioral Health and Developmental Services of Strafford County, Inc., whose goal is to help those with autism. The rest of the funds will be placed into a trust for Vitale’s daughter, who has autism herself.
Shout out to Tom for coming through in the clutch! Of course we had 2+ decades worth of evidence to know that that was inevitable.
Dan from New Hampshire says he has the only signed Tom Brady American flag, from 2001. This flew over the old Foxborough stadium.
The Hall of Fame asked Dan to borrow the flag, it’s been here since June @ABC6 pic.twitter.com/IhEctm3OPr
— Olivia DaRocha (@oliviadarocha) February 1, 2022
