The whole "game issued"/"team issued" aspect of g/u has so many different meanings dependent on the collector. Personally I don't think it matters unless it can be proven that it actually hung in the player's locker waiting in the wings as his backup, which I think is unlikely with 99.9% of all "game issued/team issued" jerseys.

I try to look at these items from a scarcity issue instead. In this case, regardless of whether this item actually hit the Patriots locker room, it looks to me to be pretty much the exact jersey Brady wore on that Thanksgiving Day game against Detroit way back when and how often do you see those? Look at the nameplate--it's exactly the nameplate the Patriots wore that game and they haven't worn that kind of nameplate since with the large lettering, if I recall correctly. I don't think they ever even made accurate retail versions of these. I wouldn't be surprised if you could hardly tell the difference between this one and the one Brady actually wore that game, if you looked at them side-by-side. So, in my opinion, the buyer of this jersey is getting something pretty unique and rare, regardless of whether it ever sat in a box at Patriots headquarters. But as always I could be wrong!