Tom Brady Auction Among Continued Efforts By Tampa Bay Professional Sports Interests In Battle Against Coronavirus

Tampa Bay’s professional sports teams and athletes continue to do their part in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. 

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is among several celebrities taking part in the All-In-Challenge auction platform organized by Fanatics to help children in need, the elderly and front-line workers.

The winner of Brady’s auction, which concludes April 28, will attend (along with three guests) the Bucs’ home opener, receive a game-used jersey and cleats worn by the quarterback as well as either a post-game dinner or a private workout with Brady.

Earlier this month Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, donated funds to Feeding Tampa Bay for 750,000 meals. 

The Glazer family, owners of the Buccaneers, donated five million meals to Feeding Tampa Bay, which serves several counties in west central Florida.

One of the receivers Brady will be targeting this season, Mike Evans, donated $100,000 with half going to the United Way Suncoast in Tampa and the other half assisting his native Galveston, Texas.

Several Buccaneers players have been aiding Metropolitan Ministries by purchasing meals from local restaurants, helping those businesses in the process, and delivering them to the non-profit.

Former Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston and WWE superstar Thaddeus Bullard, a.k.a  Titus O’Neil, each donated $25,000 to Metropolitan Ministries to provide food for families.

The Rays and the Rowdies, which the MLB team owns, are jointly allocating $1 million to non-profit organizations throughout the Tampa Bay region with $700,000 having been committed as of April 17. The teams have also established a COVID-19 Relief Grant program to assist organizations with 501(c)(3) status that focus on, among other things, hunger relief and shelter, and are being impacted by the pandemic.

The Rays/Rowdies donated $250,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay and launched a virtual food drive that raised $400,000. The Rays also partnered with Papa Johns to deliver pizzas to police officers and nurses working at coronavirus testing centers in the parking lot of Raymond James Stadium, the Buccaneers’ home venue.

Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, his wife, Nicole, and pitching prospect Shane McClanahan treated staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa to breakfast.

The Rays/Rowdies, Lightning and Buccaneers each contributed $100,000 to a fund established by the city of Tampa to help residents and small businesses.

Bryce Huffman, an employee of Vinik Sport Group, the parent of the Lightning, has been spending of his time producing 3D masks and donating them to The Spring of Tampa Bay, which provides support and services to domestic violence victims.

The Vinik Family Foundation, headed by Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and his wife, Penny, donated $300,000 to Metropolitan Ministries for meals and $50,000 to the University of South Florida’s USF United Support Fund to help students with rent and obtain essential supplies. 

Last month, the team’s players pledged to donate 500,000 meals through Feeding Tampa Bay. Along with corporate sponsor Mosaic, a Tampa-based phosphate mining company, the team donated $200,000 to 14 Tampa Bay area food banks through its Goals for Food program.