TMZ Bought Aaron Hernandez Jailhouse Letter From Memorabilia Store

On Thursday, TMZ published a letter Aaron Hernandez wrote from jail. He had asked the recipient to "keep this off social media PLEASE." The latest news—that TMZ purchased it from a Boston-area sports memorabilia store for $18,000—raises a whole bunch of questions.

The letter was supposed a reply to a fan who had spent time in the same jail, who had told Hernandez to stay positive. But now the Boston Herald reports that TMZ paid $18,000 for the letter, and didn't buy it from that fan. Instead, it got the letter from Sportsworld, a memorabilia store in Saugus, Mass.

The letter was addressed to "an ex-con named Karl," but now you've got to wonder if Karl actually exists, or was an invention of the store to obtain a valuable piece of sports history. (I'd call it "priceless," but we know the price.)

Yesterday, TMZ published a second letter from Hernandez. It's shorter, and less interesting, but coming so close on the heels of the first suggests it might have been part of the same purchase.

Congratulations, whoever's writing Aaron Hernandez with the intent to sell his replies—you've almost made us feel bad for an accused murderer.