New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's legendary side won six Super Bowls - yet he only has five rings to show for it. The NFL goliath has held the Sid Lombardi trophy aloft on six occasions, ever since he bought the former strugglers in 1994. In 2005, Kraft, 83, was still celebrating his third Super Bowl triumph as an owner when he visited Saint Petersburg on a business trip. During his time in Russia, he and his colleagues met with the always cunning and unpredictable Vladimir Putin. At the time, he had only recently picked up his third ring, which was reportedly worth around $25,000 (£19,950).
After showing his friend, US banker Sandy Weil, he proceeded to show his gleaming, diamond encrusted ring to the Russian leader. Putin looked at the ring and uttered a frightening message, before placing it in his own pocket and leaving the room. Speaking in the NFL Film Series, Kraft said: "Anyone that has a privilege of having one understands why the ring is the thing. I keep them in a drawer where I have my cufflinks.
"They're all in a drawer except for my third one. The original is in Russia with the president of the country. I happened to be there on a business mission with my friend, Sandy Weil. "We had just given out our rings. I showed Sandy my ring and he said, 'Why don't you show it to the president?' I showed it to him and he put it on. He sort of enjoyed it so he kept it on.". Also recalling the incident in 2013, Kraft said: "I took out the ring and showed it to him, and he put it on and he goes 'I can kill someone with this ring'. I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.".
Understandably, Kraft was rather unhappy that his ring had seemingly been taken, never to be seen again by the Russian president. Soon after this bizarre exchange, Kraft received a phone call from the White House. He revealed that representatives of George Bush's administration pleaded with him to not try and get the ring back in the name of US and Russian relations. Kraft reluctantly agreed and would go on to release a statement in 2005, claiming he offered the ring to Putin as a sign of respect and friendship.
Kraft said: "I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and the leadership of President Putin.". Fortunately for the multi-billionaire, he had Tom Brady within his ranks, and the legendary quarterback would go on to inspire the Patriots to three more Super Bowl titles in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Meanwhile, it is presumed the ring remains with Putin to this day.
