A ball from the last AFC Championship game, the game the deflategate scandal is centered around, was auction off for almost $44,000.

Patriots fans Laura and Matt Nichols were handed a ball at the game and decided to auction it off, with an opening bid of $25,000. The ball ended up selling Saturday morning for $43,740, which is one of the highest prices ever paid for a football, according to ESPN.com.

The auction site Lelands.com sold the ball along with Laura's ticket stub, pictures of the couple in the stands and a letter explaining how they ended up with the ball in the first place.

Laura and Matt were rooting for the Pats at the AFC Championship game when wide receiver Brandon LaFell handed them the ball after LeGarrette Blount's touchdown run in the third quarter.

"Blount ran in for a touchdown, a 13-yarder, and then he dropped the ball, and he went to go celebrate with the Minutemen, when they were firing off their rifles," Matt told FOX25. "Brandon LaFell picked up the ball, and my wife pointed at him, and he pointed back at her with the ball and then gave it to her."

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Braves first baseman Matt Olson (left) is greeted by Ronald Acuña Jr. after batting during the MLB Home Run Derby as part of the All-Star Game festivities on Monday, July 14, 2025, at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC