People are speculating that The Rock is the mysterious, controversial buyer of a $31.8 million T. rex skeleton, but others say he just owns a replica

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson appeared on "ManningCast" on Monday in front of a T. rex skull.
• He said the fossil was called Stan, the same name as the most expensive T. rex skeleton ever sold.

When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson appeared on "ManningCast" with Peyton and Eli Manning on Monday, he likely expected his contributions to the debate about the NFL playoffs would be fans' main focus.

Instead, it was a full-size T. rex skull behind him that got the most attention from both the Manning brothers and people on social media.

"Wait, what is that? You've got a T. rex behind you? What is that?!" Eli asked the former WWE star as they watched the Los Angeles Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round.

"I got a T. rex skull, yeah," he replied, laughing. "That's Stan. As a matter of fact, Stan is the most complete T. rex skull ever found by a young paleontologist, and his name was Stan, so this T. rex head was named after him."

—Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 18, 2022

People on social media speculated about the origins of Johnson's dinosaur fossil, with many pointing out that a T. rex of the same name was sold at auction in 2020 for a record-breaking price.

That October, an anonymous buyer purchased one of the world's most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever found for $31.8 million, about four times the price expected by auctioneers. It was named Stan after Stan Sacrison, the amateur paleontologist who discovered it.

The sale caused controversy in the scientific community. Paleontologists were angered by the inflated price the buyer paid and worried the sale could encourage people to seek profit over scientific discovery in the future.

"This is terrible for science and is a great boost and incentive for commercial outfits to exploit the dinosaur fossils of the American West," an expert told National Geographic.

Soon after the speculation about whether Johnson owned a $32 million T. rex skeleton began, the reporter Nick Veronica noted that it's possible to buy a life-sized replica of Stan's skull from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, a South Dakota company involved in the real Stan's excavation.

Veronica, who works for News 4 Buffalo, tweeted screenshots of the institute's website, from which you can buy a replica skull for a much more reasonable $11,500.

—Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) January 18, 2022

A description of the item on the website says: "Built in two segments (skull and lower jaws) plus base and support post, this specimen can be uncrated and assembled easily by two people in less than fifteen minutes!"

A full replica is also available to buy for $120,000.

While it's unclear whether Johnson owns Stan's real skull or a replica, given that the skeleton was sold in its entirety it seems unlikely that Johnson would have detached the head to display it in his office.

That said, Johnson could easily have afforded to buy the full skeleton. Forbes estimated in 2020 that he'd earn over $87 million that year, and he's consistently ranked among the best-paid actors in Hollywood.

"Pretty cool and badass, isn't it?" Johnson said of the skull during his "ManningCast" appearance. It certainly is, regardless of whether it's the real deal or not.

Johnson's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on whether the T-rex head in his home is the real Stan.