A paycheck from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL was leaked on YouTube and the remarkable details within led to fans coming up with a theory as to whose paperwork it might be.
The Bucs paycheck was posted by an incredibly short-lived YouTube channel that showcased thrift store finds and was full of big numbers and, according to some fans, identifying information that pointed towards one player at the western Florida franchise and two-time Super Bowl champions.
The paycheck from October 2004 (NFL players are paid weekly during the regular season) totalled $170,855.98 after deductions and revealed a year-to-date figure of $1,447,058.36 as well as the player's marital status.
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The single star had collected $58,823.53 gross while on injured reserve as well as earnings in that year relating to training camps, performance bonuses and staff tickets.
The player in question was a good friend to the taxman in October 2004, contributing $93,779.57 in Federal Income Tax and $3,923.53 in Medicare.
His total year-to-date tax bill as of the end of that month? More than $502,366.
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There were also deductions for overnight hotel stays and, presumably, room service, as well as Super Bowl tickets and a $50,000 per year suite at the Buccaneers' Raymond James Stadium.
Sports fans being sports fans, giveaway details like a $5,000 fine got sleuthing tongues wagging in the comments and a fan theory emerged as to whose paycheck had been pored over in the video.
In all, two potential names were identified by fans.
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The first player identified was Brian Kelly, a cornerback for the Bucs between 1998 and 2007 and a Super Bowl XXXVII winner.
The second was Kelly's cornerback room colleague Ronde Barber, who played his entire career at Tampa Bay before retiring in 2012.
While one YouTube commenter worked out that the gross figure in the check tallied with Barber's known salary, a small detail led to the theory that Kelly was the man whose paycheck ended up in a thrift store.
The paycheck lists a deduction for a fine of $5,000, the same amount Kelly was fined for a hit around the same time according to an article the YouTube detective discovered in a news article.
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However, another commenter pointed out that players are fined all the time and it doesn't make ESPN.
Despite the confidence of the original theorist, the leading candidate for that article is dated almost a year later.
Topics: NFL
Chris Nee