Patriots Owner Claims Vladimir Putin Stole His Super Bowl Ring

Back in 2005, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Earlier that year, the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, and Kraft was wearing the ring he earned from that victory.

Apparently, Putin really liked that ring, because after Kraft let him try it on, he dipped out, but not before saying something ominous:

“I took out the ring and showed it to [Putin], and he put it on and he goes, ‘I can kill someone with this ring,’ ” Kraft told the crowd at Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence gala at the Waldorf-Astoria. “I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”

At the time, Kraft said something about choosing to give the ring to Putin, but that's only because a White House official strongly urged him to not try and get it back, in an attempt to improve the relationship between the two countries.

So, that Super Bowl XXXIX ring is somewhere in Russia, and Kraft only has his other two Super Bowl rings to console him. Did anyone look deeper into Putin saying "I can kill someone with this ring," though?

[ NY Post]

Photo: Rob Carr/Getty