Counterfeit Patrick Mahomes Chiefs Super Bowl Rings Seized as Part of Federal Bust

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that it had seized 80 fake Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rings, including some with Patrick Mahomes' name engraved, and other counterfeit memorabilia in Louisville, according to TMZ Sports. 

The fake memorabilia package was being shipped from China to Florida. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the package was worth $345,000.

In addition to Chiefs' Super Bowl rings, the package included a large amount of fake Mahomes memorabilia, TMZ Sports reports. There were also 30 fake Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl rings, 110 fake Atlanta Braves World Series rings and 10 fake Milwaukee Bucks NBA championship rings.

CBP Chicago operations director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke told Heidi Schmidt of KSNT.com:

"“Counterfeit jewelry continues to flood e-commerce market and these rings were focused on a select group of sports collectors and their fans. Our officers are well-trained to find counterfeit merchandise like these in support of CBP’s mission of protecting the American public and the American economy.”"

According to TMZ Sports, these types of memorabilia seizures have become more common. In January, 56 shipments of 1,382 fake sports championships and trophies were seized by authorities. If they were assumed to be authentic, the items would have been worth around $1 million. 

Like sports cards, some of which are worth more than $1 million, sports memorabilia has become very popular over the last several years, with collectors looking to get their hands on some of the best items.

Items from Mahomes and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady are among those that collectors pursue the most. Mahomes and the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, their first title since 1970. Brady and the Bucs won the title in 2021.