Dinner with Tom Brady? 3-on-3 with Shaq? The best experiences in the All In Challenge auction
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought sports — and normal life — to a halt. Athletes have been stepping up to help (check out Yahoo Sports’ good news tracker for many heartwarming examples), but a few have gone above and beyond to contribute to the All In Challenge.
The All In Challenge is a digital fundraiser started by Michael Rubin, the founder and chairman of Fanatics, and is dedicated to fighting food insecurity during the pandemic, especially among children. All of the money raised will go to Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry and America's Food Fund, which is directly benefiting Feeding America and World Central Kitchen.
Athletes have donated some incredible experiences that will be auctioned off to raise money for these charities. Picking the best one from each sport isn’t easy, but that’s why we’re here — just in case the government accidentally adds an extra few zeroes to your stimulus check.
Football
Winner: Buccaneers home opener, game jersey and dinner with Tom Brady
Runner-up: Georgia tailgate and game day with Todd Gurley
The auction is stacked with phenomenal football experiences. You can double date with Ciara and Russell Wilson, or with Zach and Julie Ertz. You could win Eli Manning’s 2012 Super Bowl MVP Corvette Convertible, or do dinner and golf with his older brother Peyton! But as ever, Tom Brady cannot be ignored. He’s offering three tickets to his Tampa Bay Buccaneers home opener, the jersey he wore at that game, and the choice of having dinner with him or doing a workout. (Take the dinner.) With Brady on a new team for the first time, that seems like a uniquely incredible experience.
If that’s not your speed, tailgating with Todd Gurley at a Georgia game (along with a game day experience) seems like it’ll be a wild time. Todd Gurley doing keg stands? Yes, please.
Basketball
Winner: 3-on-3 with Shaq and 4 of your friends
Runner-up: Winemaking with Dwyane Wade
This one was close, because winemaking with recently retired NBA icon Dwyane Wade at his winery, Wade Cellars, sounds incredible. You’d even get to eat dinner with the entire Wade family, which could include his amazing wife Gabrielle Union. But playing 3-on-3 with Shaquille O’Neal and your friends sounds just transcendent — and it presents tons of opportunities for comedy. Shaq would pretty much dominate everyone, and he probably has some great not-for-TV stories he can tell!
Honorable Mention: The New York Knicks are offering a two-day draft experience that appears to be both a prize and a punishment for dedicated fans. You can sit in the Knicks’ draft war room and watch them pick their stars of tomorrow, presumably before they get traded and/or hurt. You will also have the opportunity to play H-O-R-S-E with Allan Houston and John Starks, but those Knicks legends are subject to change.
Baseball
Winner: Batting lesson from A-Rod and take home his World Series trophy
Runner-up: Chicago Cubs game day experience with Anthony Rizzo
With all due respect to Anthony Rizzo, there was no contest here. Not only do you get a one hour one-on-one batting lesson with Alex Rodriguez at the MLB ballpark of your choice, you get to take home his own personal 2009 World Series replica trophy. But if you’re looking for a baseball experience that doesn’t involve A-Rod teaching you something, Anthony Rizzo’s game day experience with the Chicago Cubs is stuffed with perks like a postgame dinner at a steakhouse, eight tickets between home plate and the Cubs dugout, a private suite, roundtrip airfare, four hotel rooms, a jersey, and even more. Rizzo wasn’t kidding around with this package — it’s truly a game day extravaganza.
Hockey
Winner: Skate and play with the 1994 Stanley Cup New York Rangers
Runner-up: Center ice seats or suite and Auston Matthews' game-used jersey
It’s been 26 years since the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, but playing with the guys who actually did it is a Rangers fan’s ultimate dream. The listing isn’t clear, but it seems like you can bring your own team with you and actually play against members of the 1994 Rangers. You could bring your kid’s youth hockey team and see if they could give the old guys a run for their money! The runner-up is the only other hockey auction available, and since the prize is tickets to a Toronto Maple Leafs game and a game-used Auston Matthews jersey, it involves a lot less activity.
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