Tom Brady has made so many Super Bowls that fans started to think that the only way to get one of his game-worn jerseys was to steal them.
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In one of the wildest stories coming out of Super Bowl 51, Brady had his game-worn jersey. If you can’t remember which Super Bowl that was, let me give you a quick reminder.
28-3? That should jog a few memories. Atlanta had New England right where they wanted. After a dream start where they picked off Brady for six and had the offense rolling, they found themselves up 28-3 in the third quarter.
Then, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. Brady didn’t miss the mark through the fourth quarter, and the Patriots converted on every opportunity they got. Every two point conversion went their way. Dont’a Hightower forced the biggest turnover of the game, and New England stormed back to send the game to overtime.
Today is a national holiday for Patriots fans. 3-28 marks one of the greatest comeback in sports history.
Down 28-3 in the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl 51, the Patriots won their 5th championship. Live each day like it’s 3-28 pic.twitter.com/fXElcFWdB2
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) March 28, 2020
In overtime, the Pats won the coin toss and promptly marched down the field to win the game. The win marked the greatest Super Bowl comeback of all time and Brady’s fifth title.
Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl jersey could have fetched $1 million
After the game, Brady returned to his locker to find a very strange situation. His game worn jersey had been stolen. Nobody had any clue of how it happened.
In the chaos of the comeback and in the celebration of it all, someone may have passed through undetected and taken Brady’s jersey. That jersey was historic. It belonged to the quarterback who set records for completions, pass yards, and Super Bowl MVPs in that game.
Robert Kraft came to meet Brady after the game, gifting cigars to the entire team, and that’s when Brady told him that his jersey was gone. “Somebody stole my game jersey,” Brady said.
Robert Kraft handing out victory cigars, including a special visit to TB12. pic.twitter.com/4GVyJdbrfw
— Dan Hanzus (@DanHanzus) February 6, 2017
According to several sources, the thief could have made some serious money off the jersey. That is, of course, if he could have sold the jersey legally. He was most definitely a criminal and would be arrested immediately, so all of this is hypothetical, but still, Brady’s jersey was very valuable.
Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars believed the jersey could easily touch six figures. “It’s one of the greatest Super Bowls of all-time. It’s probably worth $200,000, at least,” Harrison told TMZ. Time Money set the price even higher at $400,000. Bloomberg reported that it would be worth $500,000.
The highest reported figure was by Josh Evans, owner and founder of Lelands.com who claimed the jersey could go for $1 million. Babe Ruth holds the record for the highest piece of sports memorabilia with one of his jerseys going for $4.4 million at an auction.
After sifting through hours of security footage, the thief was finally identified. Martin Ortega was the culprit. Brady didn’t elect to press charges.