Tom Brady's Super Bowl 51 Jersey Goes Missing After Patriots Win vs. Falcons

The New England Patriots locker room appeared to have become a crime scene on Feb. 5, as Tom Brady's jersey went missing following the team's 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51.

Martin Rogers of USA Today reported Brady was unable to find his game jersey after enlisting the help of security personnel and the team's equipment staff.

The NFL shared footage from NFL Network's Dan Hanzus of Brady discussing the issue with Patriots owner Robert Kraft:

Brady joked that the jersey was "going to be on eBay soon, I guess," per Rogers. During Brady's Super Bowl 51 MVP press conference that took place Monday morning, Brady reiterated that the jersey had yet to be returned.

"The jersey," said Brady, per Tom Leyden of Fox 25. "I put it in my bag and then came out, and it wasn't there anymore, so it's unfortunate because that's a nice piece of memorabilia. So if it shows up on eBay somewhere, someone let me know, try to track that down."

"Those are pretty special ones to keep, you know? What can you do," said Brady. "I'll take the ring, and that's good enough for me."

On Monday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement on Brady's missing jersey and the efforts to find it, via TMZ Sports:

In Texas, we place a very high value on hospitality and football. Tom Brady's jersey has great historical value and is already being called "the most valuable NFL collectible ever."

It is important that history does not record that it was stolen in Texas. I've called Colonel Steve McCraw to ask that the Texas Rangers work with the Houston Police Department in this case.

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.

"We have been looking into this disappointing matter and will continue to assist law enforcement authorities," the NFL said in a statement, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.

Leyden provided additional insight into the situation following the press conference:

My colleague, Butch Stearns, spoke with a Patriots employee and returned to where I was standing on the field with an update I relayed as quickly as I could.

I said on the air, "USA Today has reported in the last few minutes that Tom Brady's jersey may have been taken from the locker room - stolen from the locker room - but Butch just ran over to one of the team reps, and the team rep does not believe that to be true, so we will stay on top of that story as well. The team rep said he saw one of the security people take Tom's jersey and put it in a safe place." ...

After the news conference, I followed up with the Patriots, who clarified that the message originally relayed on Sunday night to my colleague, Butch, was that the jersey and Brady's pads were taken off the field by an official before the trophy ceremony.

Based on what Brady said Monday morning, it seems the jersey was lost after that.

On Wednesday, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported Brady's jersey "was likely stolen from his bag prior to media entering the locker room." Robinson added that a 15-minute window between Brady returning to the locker room from his news conference and his discovery that the jersey was missing is when authorities believe the theft happened.

The jersey is a piece of NFL history. Brady, who won his record-setting fourth Super Bowl MVP on Sunday, helped the Patriots overcome a 25-point deficit—the biggest comeback ever in the event. New England also prevailed in the first Super Bowl to require overtime.

"According to NFL sources, the majority of that time span occurred when the locker room was closed," Robinson added. "During that closed period, the only individuals inside were Patriots players, team officials and employees, family of New England executives, NFL employees and security.

Robinson also reported that authorities are trying to find out if video exists of the walkways outside the locker room.

While the jersey would be worth an obscene amount of money on the open market, it likely has even more sentimental value to Brady considering the factors that led to the Patriots' fifth Super Bowl victory.

In 2013, Kraft confirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin tried on one of his Super Bowl rings and then claimed it as his own when Kraft visited St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2005.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the ring was on display in the Kremlin library with other gifts the Russian president has received.