Thoughts on this eBay Brady Jersey?

[paul457]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tom-Brady-Pa...item4cfdd32cad

Wondering why this jersey is still kicking around, and would like to get thoughts from the experts. Is it because the price is so high? Or is the cut or origin of this jersey questionable?

Seems like if it were a true issued throwback jersey from 2002 it would be gone by now... I swear this has been on eBay for a year or two. Granted the price is high for an issued jersey, but just saw some questionable 'issued' Brady 2012 Nike jerseys pass through eBay going for $2k+.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[paul457]

126 thread views and not one person has an opinion?? I don't believe that for a second...

[Mulligans]

I can tell you why I would never buy it.....

I had a conversation with Don Brochere the Pats Equipment manager about a year or so ago. He explained to me that any middle manager who works for Reebok, Nike etc. can easily order a Team Issued Jersey to appropriate specifications by just placing a phone call....he felt that's why the Internet and EBay is loaded with these Jerseys.

He went on to say that the Pats don't really have team issued Jerseys....whatever is in their lockers will be worn, with exception of a player being cut or traded. When this happens.... and if the team chooses to release the Jersey, it will be issued with the appropriate Patriots COA.

I have seen similar Jerseys for years on the Internet and they are certainly very cool and they are great for wear or display, but they would not fit into my interpretation of "Team Issued".

[beantown]

I can tell you why I would never buy it.....

I had a conversation with Don Brochere the Pats Equipment manager about a year or so ago. He explained to me that any middle manager who works for Reebok, Nike etc. can easily order a Team Issued Jersey to appropriate specifications by just placing a phone call....he felt that's why the Internet and EBay is loaded with these Jerseys.

He went on to say that the Pats don't really have team issued Jerseys....whatever is in their lockers will be worn, with exception of a player being cut or traded. When this happens.... and if the team chooses to release the Jersey, it will be issued with the appropriate Patriots COA.

I have seen similar Jerseys for years on the Internet and they are certainly very cool and they are great for wear or display, but they would not fit into my interpretation of "Team Issued".

Hello....I am the seller on eBay of the Brady throwback...There seems to be some contradictory information from what the late Mr. Don Brochure said to what Jim Scollins and the Patriots website has recently offered...they are selling game issued jerseys of players who played for the Pats for years...so which is the correct information?

Also, I've been collecting Brady game jerseys for 10+ years and I have only seen (2) 2002 Throwbacks, both of which I own. I am selling this one because its a duplicate...I have seen many other years of the home and road, but not the Throwback. I would think that if there were a "middle manager" for Nike, Reebok, etc., there would be a lot more of these around, especially with Brady's popularity.

With all due respect to the late Mr. Don Brochure, there seems to be a "mystery" with how things are exactly run in an equipment room. This is speculation on my behalf, but through my years of collecting and the conversations I've had, it's my sense that these equipment managers don't want you to know "exactly" how they operate. Always saying that items never come from them and that they must come from other various sources...my thoughts on that is, if they are letting stuff get out of the locker room, they don't want that coming back on them! Can you blame them? If they were caught letting stuff go, they'd be fired.

Not looking to be confrontational, but just sharing my thoughts...here is a look at my Brady collection...

[genius]

Beantown is highly reputable and he knows his stuff especially when it comes to the Patriots.

[paul457]

Awesome info guys, keep it coming!

Question for Mulligans - Since the Patriots just started selling GI / GU stuff last year w/COA, how would anyone obtain a pre 2012 GI / GU item with a Patriots COA? There's definitely a lot floating around on eBay, even NFL auctions and none of them have a Pats COA, so I'm curious if the Pats released stuff before 2012 in very limited numbers?

Said another way - if 99% of the stuff floating around doesn't have a COA, how do we tell what's real, and what came through the Reebok back door? And it sounds like the stuff coming out of the Reebok back door is identical to the team issued stuff... which makes it even more confusing. I'm somewhat of a newb so this is a learning experience for me.

To Beantown - awesome Brady collection! I'm very interested in getting a Brady issued jersey - so would like your feedback as well.

[genius]

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!

[genius]

One other thing as an aside, I love that this jersey does NOT have the NFL shield patch on the neckline. Just like the actual gamers that day.

[cohibasmoker]

Hello....I am the seller on eBay of the Brady throwback...There seems to be some contradictory information from what the late Mr. Don Brochure said to what Jim Scollins and the Patriots website has recently offered...they are selling game issued jerseys of players who played for the Pats for years...so which is the correct information?

Also, I've been collecting Brady game jerseys for 10+ years and I have only seen (2) 2002 Throwbacks, both of which I own. I am selling this one because its a duplicate...I have seen many other years of the home and road, but not the Throwback. I would think that if there were a "middle manager" for Nike, Reebok, etc., there would be a lot more of these around, especially with Brady's popularity.

With all due respect to the late Mr. Don Brochure, there seems to be a "mystery" with how things are exactly run in an equipment room. This is speculation on my behalf, but through my years of collecting and the conversations I've had, it's my sense that these equipment managers don't want you to know "exactly" how they operate. Always saying that items never come from them and that they must come from other various sources...my thoughts on that is, if they are letting stuff get out of the locker room, they don't want that coming back on them! Can you blame them? If they were caught letting stuff go, they'd be fired.

Not looking to be confrontational, but just sharing my thoughts...here is a look at my Brady collection...

Very nice collection. This thread rang a bell. I spoke to one of the Eagles equipment guys and he told me that players and even their agents can order team-issued jerseys. He wasn't really clear on the procedure on how the "extras" were ordered. Perhaps on purpose?

Jim

[Mulligans]

The Patriots have sold game used items on the their Foundation auction website for years and recently stopped in 2011 and that link is now routed to NFL Auctions....many didn't know about the website, but all items came with a Team COA....My last purchase was a sweet pair of Welker pink cleats and a game ball and both came with Team COAs. Many of these items purchased have been listed on AMI for the last year or so.

In 2012, The Patriots went into storage and pulled inventory from many years....those that showed considerable game wear were labeled GU those that did not were labeled GI. Both GI that I purchased easily photo-matched to throwback games.

I personally would never buy anything Game Issued or Game Used that did not come directly from the team or the NFL or match up pretty well. There are just too many out there on the Internet.....GI Jerseys should be a rarity not available abundantly....Just sharing my thoughts.