The ballroom at TPC Sawgrass was filled with the sound of applause, tears and reverence as the Donaldsonville Ball was auctioned for $130,000 at the annual Desire Cup, hosted by the Wuerffel Foundation. The sale pushed its value to $500,000, making it the most expensive autographed football ever recorded.
What makes this football unique is that it isn’t signed by a Heisman winner or a Hall of Famer. Instead, the signatures belong to children in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, from the ministry that Danny Wuerffel volunteered at during his time with the New Orleans Saints.
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“Every single human being has value, dignity and worth,” said Wuerffel, the executive director of Desire Street Ministries and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner. “I love football because it’s a team sport, and I think that life is a team sport. But the reality is we live in a world where we create an ‘us and them’ narrative when we look at people, so I hope this story pushes back against that narrative.”
Let’s rewind a few years back to the beginning of how this football came to life in the small town of Donaldsonville.
After winning the Heisman Trophy at Florida, Wuerffel was drafted by the Saints in 1997. It was there that he began volunteering in the impoverished Desire Street neighborhood. Later in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed Desire Street Ministries’ facility, Wuerffel took charge, helping locate students and rebuild the New Orleans community center.
In 2007, Desire Street partnered with a local church that worked with children from troubled homes at the Donaldsonville recreation center. The group invited Wuerffel to speak at the event. At the end of the night, to express their gratitude, the children signed a football and gave it to Wuerffel.
Wuerffel kept the ball on his desk for years as a reminder of the children he met and their generosity.
So grateful for @espn @ESPNCFB for sharing the story about how this football presented to me by kids from Donaldsonville, LA has helped us all remember we’re each created in God’s image and are valuable.
Our @DesireStreet partners are supported by amazing donors. pic.twitter.com/oqylCKulTz— Danny Wuerffel (@DannyWuerffel) November 2, 2019
Fast forward to 2011, the Wueffel Foundation put on the Desire Cup, a fundraiser for Desire Street Ministries that happens in conjunction with the Florida-Georgia football game. The weekend includes a gala and an auction followed by a shotgun golf tournament the next day.
At that year’s gala, a football signed by Wuerffel and Georgia legend Herschel Walker sold for $10,000. The next day, Wuerffel had an idea.
“Danny brought up the idea about auctioning off the Donaldsonville Football,” said James Gadsby, the chief operating officer of Desire Street Ministries and executive director of the Wuerffel Foundation. “He talked about how much the ball meant to him because of what the kids did to show their appreciation for him coming. He wondered whether anyone would even pay $5 for a ball that meant so much to him. His inspiration came from the belief that every person has infinite worth, created in God’s image, so he took a risk and put it up for auction.”
The next year at the Desire Cup, Wuerffel auctioned off the football and held his breath waiting for the crowd’s response.
“I never expected it to be this influential,” Wuerffel said. “I was really confident in the value proposition but at the same time, I was scared to death that nobody else would see it, so it felt a little risky.”
That night, the Donaldsonville Ball sold for $11,000 and the first winning bidder was announced, David Hodges.
Throughout the year, Hodges kept the ball on his desk as a reminder. Then Hodges himself had an idea.
“The next year, David reached out to Danny and offered to donate it back so that it could become an annual tradition,” Gadsby said. “It was an incredibly gracious and generous offer from him.”
That is how the tradition began.
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Every year since, the Donaldsonville Ball has been the final item auctioned at the Desire Street gala as a constant reminder that every person has worth and value.
The ball not only raises money for Desire Street, but it touches the people who win it.
“David was the first to notice that when people asked about the football and he told them the story, they were moved by it,” Wuerffel said. “That really set the tone. Over the years, people have shared how they display it, what it means to them and their guests, and how the story continues to spread positivity.”
A few years into its journey, the ball reached a significant milestone.
“Some of the leading voices in autograph memorabilia told us that it was valued more than any football ever signed,” Wuerffel said. “And I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
Going into the 2025 Desire Cup in October, the Wuerffel Foundation had a goal: to get the ball to be worth half a million dollars (the amount spent on it during the auction over the years). To make it to this goal, the ball had to be auctioned off for $130,000.
The event started and old players, coaches, friends and fans mingled around the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, until they were all called into the main room for dinner. Following a series of announcements and activities, the evening reached its final portion — the auction.
Several items were sold before the one everyone anticipated: the Donaldsonville Ball. The room fell silent as every head turned to Wuerffel, who stood on stage sharing his hope and dream of reaching a half-million-dollar valuation. He explained the mission behind the football and the message it represents.
Then the bidding began.
Before long, two donors came together and split the amount, officially getting the Donaldsonville Ball to $500,000.
The room erupted in applause, and every seat was emptied as a standing ovation filled the room. It was a moment marked in history that all came from a simple idea from Wuerffel with a dream to get the message across that every person has value.
“To hit a half a million dollars, that’s incredible to be a part of, and it was so special that night. The people who really went out of their way to help get it there meant a lot,” Wuerffel said.
The story doesn’t end there, though. The inaugural winner, David Hodges, was unable to attend the gala last year, but he informed Wuerffel that he would like to support half of the $130,000 needed to reach the milestone. Thus, the other two donors covered the rest. A perfect full-circle moment.
With the football now valued at $500,000, the question becomes: What happens next?
With the Florida-Georgia game moving to Atlanta from Jacksonville, so too will the Desire Cup, Oct. 29-30, followed by the game on Oct. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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“We’ve been thinking about retiring the ball, but there’s been so much continued positivity,” Wuerffel said. “We had a person challenge us, saying, ‘Your ball has lived a long life cycle at this particular event, but there’s other events that you’re at that you could share this story.’”
Whether the ball is retired or keeps on raising money for Desire Street Ministries, it will never lose its legacy.
It started as an idea from Wuerffel that was rooted in humility and care for others, and now a football most people wouldn’t pay just $5 for is the most expensive signed football in history.
“As a person, this story is so touching,” Gadsby said. “Even though I’ve seen the video [shown at the event] dozens of times, at the end it says, ‘I’m no one important but if my signature can help in that way, that’s a blessing.’ I still tear up watching that.”
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