After engineering the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, and picking up a remarkable fifth title and fourth Super Bowl MVP honour, you’d think it was a perfect night for Tom Brady.
But the New England Patriots quarterback was left slightly deflated after his game jersey went missing in the aftermath of the historic 34-28 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.
In a video shared to the NFL’s official Twitter account, Brady was seen telling Patriots owner Bob Kraft that someone stole his jersey, to which Kraft replied, “you better look online!”
Brady later confirmed to reporters that the prized jersey was missing.
“I put it in my bag and I came out and it wasn’t there anymore,” he said at a news conference on Monday.
“It’s unfortunate, because that’s a nice piece of memorabilia. So if it shows up on eBay, someone let me know and I’ll track that down.
“Those are pretty special ones to keep. What can you do? I’ll take the ring and that’s good enough for me.”
READ MORE: Tom Brady dedicates emotional Super Bowl win to his ailing mother
On Monday, Texas Lt.-Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement that he requested the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency to team up with Houston police to track down the jersey, which Bloomberg estimated could be worth $500,000 USD at auction — although the New York Post reports this figure may be under threat if the jersey isn’t recovered quickly and authenticated.
“I’m a Texans and Cowboys fan first, but the unquestionable success of the Super Bowl in Houston last night was a big win for our entire state and I don’t want anything to mar that victory. Whoever took this jersey should turn it in. The Texas Rangers are on the trail.” — statement from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
The statement prompted a cheeky tweet from the Texas Rangers baseball team, which joked that star third baseman Adrian Beltre would be put on the case.
However, jersey-gate was always unlikely to wipe the smile completely off Brady’s face, considering his performance on Sunday cemented his legacy as the greatest quarterback in the NFL’s history.
“Football is an emotional sport,” he said. “The lows of not playing great, to the highs of playing great and then at the end it was just a great way to finish.
“To celebrate with my teammates and then to see my family it’s just a night I’ll never forget.”
— With a file from Reuters
Comments