Rashaan Salaam’s Heisman sells for nearly $400,000; mom believes it was stolen

The Heisman Trophy won by San Diegan Rashaan Salaam in 1994 was sold Saturday for $399,608 in an online auction by SCP Auctions, the Laguna Niguel company announced Sunday.

Salaam, who played for La Jolla Country Day before starring at Colorado, committed suicide in December 2016 in a Boulder, Colo., park.

His mother, Khalada, who still lives in San Diego, told CBSSports.com that she believes the trophy was stolen.

Denver real estate and private equity investor Tyler Tysdal, who enlisted the auction house to sell the trophy, told the website he bought the Heisman from a dealer in 2014 who offered “a letter of authenticity” from Salaam.

“This is his trophy,” Tysdal said of the Heisman. “He was willing and wanting to sell it.”

Tysdal said in a statement Sunday that the net proceeds from the sale will be donated to the National Institutes of Health to support research on athletes’ medical conditions, which includes brain injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

According to SCP Auctions, the previous record for a Heisman sold at auction was $395,240 for Bruce P. Smith’s 1941 trophy.