When Tom Brady's stolen $500K Super Bowl jerseys were found with an international media member - "I'll try to track that down"
A forgotten scandal in NFL folklore involves Tom Brady's jerseys being stolen after he won his fourth and fifth Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. It was not a coincidence: the same reporter took both game-worn jerseys from Super Bowl XLIX and Super Bowl LI, along with the helmet worn by Von Miller in Super Bowl 50.
After Super Bowl LI, which included the famous 28-3 comeback from the Patriots over the Atlanta Falcons, Brady was unhappy with his jersey being taken.
"It's unfortunate, because that's a nice piece of memorabilia," Brady told the media a day later. "If it shows up on eBay or something, somebody let me know. I'll try to track that down. ... Those are pretty special ones to keep. But what can you do? I'll take the ring. That's good enough for me."
Who stole Tom Brady's Super Bowl jerseys?
The Houston police had to check over 20,000 credentials to gather a person of interest following the theft. They closed on Martin Mauricio Ortega, a director of Diario La Prensa. He resigned after they discovered he was the one stealing Brady's jerseys but before the news became public.
The jerseys were valued at $500,000 at the time due to the nature of the games, as a regular season game-worn jersey was worth $50,000.
FOX images were used during the investigation and they showed Ortega entering the locker room and putting the jersey on a black plastic bag before leaving the place. He was tracked down by the FBI and authorities were able to retain the items.
The quarterback released a statement right after the jerseys were found:
"I am happy my jerseys from SB 49 and SB 51 have been recovered, and I want to thank all of the law enforcement agencies involved. I know they worked hard on this case -- and it is very much appreciated. Hopefully when I get the jerseys back I can make something very positive come from this experience."
It's unclear whether Ortega was taken into custody after the jerseys were found, but his name was never mentioned in NFL circles again.