Most sports fans know that the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia is the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card. Like most commodities, the card's value is a result of its scarcity. It's believed that fewer than sixty of the cards exist despite the general rule that thousands of them are made. The reason T206 is so rare is that after the cards were created and packaged, as was standard at the time, to go with cigarettes from the American Tobacco Company, Wagner refused to allow continued production and demanded the cards be recalled. His reason was that he did not want children buying cigarettes to get the card. And, of course, Honus Wagner was one of MLB's greatest and most popular players, so his card would have been a real prize for kids.
Wagner's decision, folks, is what we call integrity.
Now, it sounds like another great athlete could take a lesson in character from ol' Honus Wagner. The news has reported that future Hall of Famer and iconic NFL quarterback Tom Brady has signed on to do commercials for Subway. Athletes taking endorsement deals is, of course, not news or a big deal. But the world has taken notice of this one because everyone knows what an all-natural, organic nutrition freak Tom Brady is. Thus, we can be fairly certain that Tom Brady does not eat Subway sandwiches, and has probably never been in one of their restaurants. Thus, it's a bit sketchy that he is endorsing and taking money from a company and product that he is personally philosophically opposed to.
It can't be about the money, right?
Come on, Tom.
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