The search for Tom Brady’s valuable missing Super Bowl LI jersey has ended. The NFL announced Monday morning that the jersey–and the one he wore in Super Bowl XLIX–had been located.
According to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, his department’s Major Offenders Divison traced Brady’s most recent missing jersey to Mexico where it was recovered with the help of FBI and Mexican authorities. Investigators also located the shirt he’d worn in the title game two seasons earlier.
“The HPD criminal intelligence division detectives identified a suspect in Mexico,” Chief Acevedo told Fox26 Sports in Houston. He also said federal charges are pending against that person, who had what the chief called “legitimate access” to the Super Bowl.
The jerseys were each worth well into six figures, with the one from last season’s game considered perhaps the most valuable NFL game-worn jersey ever sold after Brady led the New England Patriots to a wild comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons and earned MVP honors.
Brady discovered the missing Super Bowl LI jersey when he searched his duffel bag in the locker room following a news conference. While discussing the incident, Brady mentioned that his Super Bowl 49 jersey had also been taken without permission.
There was no immediate word on the identity of the person who had the jerseys or whether charges were being filed. However, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer said Monday that the suspect was actually “posing” as a member of the international media and walked into the Pats’ locker room behind coach Bill Belichick. The Mexican Editorial Organization, a Mexican newspaper company, sent out a tweet that a former executive from tabloid Diario La Prensa was involved in the case.
Apparently, the suspect is also believed to have been responsible for the theft of Von Miller’s game-worn helmet from Super Bowl 50.
For an update on this story, including video of the suspect entering and leaving the locker room, click here.
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