Matt Stafford buys own tickets at charity auction, gives them to Mott patient

Lions quarterback Matt Stafford donated six tickets to the Detroit-Chicago Monday Night Football game at Solider Field to a Mott Children’s Hospital auction. A nice, but not altogether unexpected gesture from a pro athlete.

Then he spent $15,000 winning back his own tickets at the auction. A worthy donation to a good cause, and certainly Stafford can afford it. Besides, these things are tax deductible and he probably has some friends who might want the tickets and accompanying travel package. Good for him. Buying the tickets back was a classy move.

Oh, but Stafford didn’t keep the tickets for his entourage. He surprised a Mott patient and her family by giving the them the Monday Night Football tickets and trip.

Well played, sir. Well played, indeed. -- JTW