Kyle Rudolph shares hilarious story of keeping Tom Brady’s final regular season touchdown pass ball - "My name on it probably devalued it"

Tom Brady's final regular season touchdown ball belongs to... Kyle Rudolph?

The former tight end announced his retirement right before the start of the 2023 season. Rudolph, who played for the Minnesota Vikings for most of his career but also had stints with the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, stayed in the league for 12 seasons and made the Pro Bowl twice.

While Rudolph's prime was long gone and his name was mostly forgotten in league's circles, he had a final thing to remember during his final season: his 50th touchdown came in a Week 18 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Moreover, it also turned out to be the final touchdown of Tom Brady's regular season career, as the quarterback also retired after the 2022 season.

During a Reddit session with NFL fans, Rudolph told the story about the football and why the ball sits in his office instead of being given to Tom Brady or anybody in the NFL offices:

Posts from the nfl community on Reddit

Who's the quarterback for the Buccaneers after Tom Brady retired?

Baker Mayfield was officially announced as the new starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday, as he beat out former second-round pick Kyle Trask for the job.

Mayfield signed with the Buccaneers during free agency on a one-year, $4 million deal with another $4.25 million available in incentives, but he will interestingly be on the books until 2028.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to add four void years on his contract, meaning they can spread some of his signing bonus for more time and ease the burden on this year's salary cap. It's worth remembering Tom Brady is counting for over $36 million this year and he's retired!

Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kick off their season with a September 10 contest away from home against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Buccaneers have one of the earliest bye weeks of the season, as their rest will come in Week 5. After playing the Vikings, they'll face the Chicago Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints in the coming weeks.