KEYSTONE - Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Vinny Testaverde is the buyer in the highest-priced home purchase in Hillsborough County this year.

The 7,090-square-foot house on Keystone Lake, 17120 Gunn Highway, features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an eight-car garage and three-story elevator. It was custom built by Gray Homes of Tampa Bay and originally listed at $5 million.

The sale was recorded by the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser on Aug. 31, and at $4.5 million is the highest valued residential real-estate transaction for 2007.

By comparison, the highest-priced residential land purchase in Pinellas County this year was $5.2 million, paid by Albert Larsen for a home at 306 Harbor View Lane in Largo. The highest-priced home purchase in Pasco County this year was $1.6 million.

The buyers, Vinny and Mitzi Testaverde, declined to be interviewed. "They're very private about it," said Dina Sierra Smith, Realtor with Smith and Associates Real Estate, who represented the couple in the purchase.

Testaverde, a Long Island, N.Y., native, won the Heisman Trophy in 1986 as a quarterback for the University of Miami. He was the first overall draft pick of the Buccaneers in the 1987 NFL draft and played with the Bucs through the 1992 season.

Testaverde and his wife, a former Buccaneers cheerleader, were married in 1991.

In July, Testaverde announced his plans to return for his 21st season in the NFL. In August he signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots, but he was released by the club on Sept. 1.

Construction on the 3-acre lakeside estate was completed in August.

Gray Homes has designed and built some of Odessa's highest-priced homes, including the private gated community Dolce Vita, on the 431-acre Keystone Lake.

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.