BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — As if Vikings fans need more heartbreak.
Former Dallas Cowboy All-Pros Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson have connected again with the legendary Hail Mary pass that owns a place in history as one of the most dramatic and painful moments in Minnesota sports history.
Pearson and Staubach are creating a digital collectible of the 50-yard touchdown pass at old Met Stadium that sealed a 17-14 victory over the Vikings in the final seconds of their 1975 playoff game. Minnesota fans insist that Pearson pushed off of Vikings cornerback Nate Wright and should have been called for a penalty. The officiating crew did not see it that way.
To this day, Pearson insists there was no deliberate push-off. "I was trying to use my outside arm to use what we receivers called their 'swim move,' and you use that to ray and get position on the defensive back," Pearson told KARE 11's Eric Perkins while reliving the moment in 2019. "In bringing that arms around, yes, there was contact on the play."
The new digital collectible is part of an emerging product trend in sports memorabilia called non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The single item will be up for auction in August with a starting bid of $20,000.
Besides taking ownership of the NFT, the winning bidder gets to join Staubach and Pearson on the football field to re-enact the famous play.
