NFL legend Tom Brady appeared to have a lot of fun at Fanatics Fest this year. From breaking a Lombardi Trophy with his former tight end, Rob Gronkowski, having fun with Eli Manning in a WWE-like entrance, to participating in various activities with fans, the greatest quarterback of all time truly did it all.
However, the highlight of Brady’s weekend might be when Brady dropped $250,000 in cash on an extremely rare LeBron James collectible at Fanatics Fest after a very fun competition. The LeBron James collectible in question came in the form of a LeBron James rookie card.
Tom Brady Buys Rare LeBron James Card for $250,000 From a Pennsylvania Teacher
Fanatics Fest hosted a fun competition featuring 50 athletes from the NFL, NHL, NBA, WWE, MLB and more, alongside 50 fans competing in a variety of events at the largest sports convention in the world. It featured eight events: MLB pitching accuracy, NHL slapshot accuracy, NFL passing skills, an NBA shooting competition, a FIFA goal-scoring shootout, a UFC striking challenge, golf accuracy and a WWE entrance contest.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner, won with a final score of 399.1 points. UFC star Justin Gaethje took second with 345.4, earning a Ferrari 296 GT valued at $500,000. 39-year-old high school health teacher, Matt Dennish came in third with 326 points, beating out Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, who took fourth with 323.9 points, and former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who was fifth with 314.5 points.
Matt Dennish, a 6’6″ high school teacher, just got 3rd place in Fanatics Games and won a 03/04 Topps Chrome Gold Refractor LeBron James BGS 9.5!
Tom Brady placed 1st, MMA fighter Justin Gaethje placed 2nd.
Matt sold the card to Tom Brady for $250,000 and a signed jersey! 😯… pic.twitter.com/Vka9rRoPot
— Sports Card Investor (@SportsCardInv) June 22, 2025
“Beating a few of those professional athletes, I hope they were trying their hardest, it makes me feel good that I came out on top,” Dennish said. “It just shows that I do have a little skill still in me at 39 years old.”
Finishing in third place, Dennish won a LeBron James rookie card, which was worth $250,000. However, when Brady saw this card, he knew he had to have it. Brady offered Dennish an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Give it up to Matt,” Brady said on stage. “To come in third place with so many incredible athletes, I was blown away. There’s no way that I thought that a fan could compete with guys who train their entire life in these disciplines. I’d like to offer Matt $250,000 for that card in cash right now.”
Dennish took very little time to answer, telling NBC: “I didn’t know exactly what to do with a card of that value. So he made my job a little bit easier just taking it off my hands, so I appreciate that.”
The schoolteacher accepted the offer from Brady and thus sold his LeBron James rookie card. It’s ironic that Brady, widely considered the NFL’s GOAT, wanted to collect a LeBron James rookie card, who is arguably the GOAT of the NBA. Nonetheless, Brady walked home with the card, and Dennish walked home $250,000 richer.
It’s safe to say Brady had an excellent time at Fanatics Fest this year. Whether he was buying a LeBron James rookie card, joking around with his NFL rival Manning, or accidentally breaking a Super Bowl trophy with Gronkowski, Brady seemed to do it all.
