The Philadelphia Eagles take on Kansas City Chiefs at the highly-anticipated NFL Super Bowl, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The players, coaches and owner of the winning team will receive the coveted Super Bowl ring, with each reportedly costing between 30,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars, and are considered to be one the most iconic objects in sports.
Ahead of the upcoming showdown, fans were reminded of an incident involving Russia president Vladimir Putin, as he also owns a ring. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft saw his team win the Super Bowl six times, but he only has five rings, as he had to give his other one to Putin.
In 2005, Kraft visited Russia on a business trip and met Putin. The pair shook hands and Kraft showed him the Super Bowl ring, which Putin reportedly took to examine, and then put it in his pocket and walked away. 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.”
‘I can kill someone with this ring’
Meanwhile in 2013, he revealed, “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.”
During an appearance on Netflix, Kraft once said, “In case Vladimir Putin you’re watching, give me my f***ing ring back, will ya?”
It has also been reported by media outlets that Kraft received a phone call from then president George Bush’s administration, who asked him not ask for the ring due to USA-Russia relations.
