During the NBA’s All Star game, Kobe Bryant’s nose was broken by a Dwyane Wade when the Heat guard hit him with an unnecessarily hard foul, especially for a meaningless exhibition game. Wade’s foul was so hard, it also gave Bryant a concussion. After he was medically cleared to play again, Bryant had to wear a protective mask to avoid re-injuring his nose.

The foul in question:

As you can probably tell from the lead image (courtesy), Kobe’s mask became something of meme, or, at least something for opposing fans to make fun of. Not to be outdone, Bryant himself also had an opinion of the mask, saying it was like wearing a sauna and that it produced so much sweat, he could drink it. Lovely images of sweat intake aside, Bryant’s mask was a trending item for a little while, which no doubt led to his (or his handler’s) decision to auction it off on eBay, with the proceeds going to charity.

So how much would people bid on a plastic face cover that was worn by an NBA player? As of this writing, the high bid for Kobe’s mask is $2,550.00. There have been 38 bids on the item, and the auction is scheduled to last for six more days, meaning you have time if you want to outbid the current leader. Oddly enough, as pointed out by Ball Don’t Lie, when he was cleared to play without the mask, Bryant said “I might donate it, see if anybody’s dumb enough to buy that sweaty mask,” which should give you all the incentive you need to knock the highest bidder from their perch.

Hey, at least it’s for charity. I mean, who cares if the player who wore the mask thinks the person who is willing to spend a lot of money on it is dumb? It’s your money, right?