Tom Brady received quite an honor on Sunday night after his New England Patriot football team won the Super Bowl. This was Brady's fifth time winning the Super Bowl. One thing that put a damper on his win was that his No. 12 jersey went missing, and as of this writing it has not turned up.
The 39-year-old star quarterback insists that he put the jersey in his gear bag. After discovering it was missing, he searched the locker room, but he did not find it. He has alerted people to see if it turns up on eBay. Brady concludes that his missing jersey was a special one for him to keep.
Memorabilia expert's opinion
Josh Evans, a sports memorabilia expert says the jersey could be sold for at least seven figures especially if it is sold immediately because people are still excited about the historic game. The jersey will go down in value the longer it is not sold. If sold in the next few days, it could easily be sold for at least $250,000. However, it could be sold for a cool million if the right person is contacted. Evans did conclude that there is probably a black market for sports memorabilia.
Texas Rangers and Houston Police
The Texas Rangers are joining the Houston Police Department's search for the missing jersey, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. In a statement, Patrick said the jersey has historical value and is the most valuable NFL collectible ever.
It could likely go into the Hall of Fame, if found. Houston's officials do not want their city and the victory of the Patriots to be marred because of the theft. That's why the Texas Rangers are helping the police search for the jersey. An appeal has gone out for Brady's jersey to be returned.
Cost of sports jerseys
Josh Evans, the founder of Lelands auction house, reports that the highest a sports jersey was sold for was much higher than $250,000.
A Babe Ruth jersey was sold to a private buyer for $4.5 million.
Tom Brady's stolen jersey was not the only theft reported on Sunday. Several pieces of Kobe Bryant's memorabilia were stolen from Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia where Bryant attended. Several items were stolen from a display case, including a jersey Bryant wore when he was a student there, a championship trophy, and several pairs of Nike sneakers signed by Bryant. The items don't have monetary value, but they were important to the school's legacy.
