In what turned out to be a record sale, the Heisman Trophy of Rashaan Salaam was sold to raise CTE research funds on Saturday.
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According to ESPN, Salaam sold his Heisman Trophy prior to his death. While the financial number on that is not known, he would sell his Heisman ring in a separate transaction, which fetched a price of $8,000.
On Saturday night, during an online auction done by SCP Auctions of California, the Heisman Trophy was sold for an astounding $399,608. Even better, proceeds from the sale are going to CTE research.
This is important not only for the continuing effort to find out more about CTE, it has a direct impact on having the former Colorado Buffalo running back's legacy leave a mark. Salaam was found dead at the age of 42, with the death being ruled a suicide.
To get a feel for how much more this Heisman went for, ESPN provided a list of the previous biggest sellers. Via that same ESPN report:
The previous record for a Heisman sold at auction was $395,240 for Bruce P. Smith's 1941 trophy. Other Heisman trophies sold at auction include O.J. Simpson's 1968 award ($255,000 in 1999); Charles White's 1979 award ($184,000 in 2000); and Paul Hornung's 1956 award ($250,000 in 2000).
Under current rules, Heisman Trophy winners are no longer allowed to sell their trophies.