Outer Banks Resident Owns Only Known Tape of Super Bowl I
A resident of Manteo and a nurse anesthetist at the Outer Banks Hospital, Troy Haupt, 47, owns the only known recording of the very first Super Bowl championship football game, which took place in January of 1967, but it is unlikely anyone will see it any time soon, as the NFL (National Football League) refuses to pay for it.
According to a fascinating new story published today by the New York Times, CBS and NBC, the networks that televised the historic game that launched what would become the most watched annual sports event in the world, astonishingly did not preserve any original recordings of the game.
Many in the industry regard a recording of Super Bowl I as the “holy grail” within the sports world, estimated to be worth $1 million by Sports Illustrated.
The tapes in question are currently in a storage facility in upstate New York, while Manteo’s Haupt has been privately negotiating with the NFL over the matter since 2005. The NFL has made it clear that it does not want to pay Haupt the $1 million he is asking for the tapes and has warned him not to sell them to outside parties or else face legal action.
The league event countered Haupt’s original $1 million request at one point with a $30,000 offer, but it is now not interested in paying anything at all.
“It’s awesome to have the tapes, but it’s frustrating that we can’t do anything with them,” Haupt told the New York Times. “It’s like you’ve won the golden ticket but you can’t get into the chocolate factory.”
The bottom line is that Haupt owns the recording but not its content, which belongs to the NFL, so as long as the league refuses to buy it, he cannot sell the tapes to a third party, like CBS or a collector who would like to own a piece of sports history.
Haupt would like to convince the league to sell the tapes jointly and donate some of the proceeds to their favorite charities, telling the Times, “They’re not doing anybody any good sitting in a vault. Let’s help some great charities.”
But that probably will not happen, as a letter last year from the league to Haupt’s lawyer warns, “Since you have already indicated that your client is exploring opportunities for exploitation of the NFL’s Super Bowl I copyrighted footage with yet-unidentified third parties, please be aware that any resulting copyright infringement will be considered intentional, subjecting your client and those parties to injunctive relief and special damages, among other remedies.”
You can the read the full story at the New York Times, and then give us your thoughts in the comments section!
Manteo, NC resident Troy Haupt owns the only known recording of the Super Bowl I broadcast, which his father taped. (photo by Courtney Manion for The New York Times)
______________________________
_______________________________
