Mystery of Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jerseys solved south of the border

BOSTON — Not one, but two of Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl jerseys are back on U.S. soil and are in the possession of the FBI after they were located in Mexico.

It quickly went from celebration to aggravation and confusion in the locker room after Brady’s historic Super Bowl LI comeback victory.

“Did someone take my jersey,” he could be heard asking in a Yahoo Sports video. “I put it in my bag. I absolutely 100 percent put it in my bag.”

Police said a member of the Mexican media, Martin Mauricio Ortega, stole Brady’s game-worn jersey out of the quarterback’s bag.

“We were able to work with the FBI, Mexican authorities, to respond to the suspect’s last known location,” Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said.

The locker room video showed Ortega enter the Patriots locker room in Houston empty handed, then leaving the locker room a short time later with what appears to be a plastic bag under his arm.

Ortega had been in Super Bowl locker rooms before.

TMZ released a photo from 12 years earlier of a selfie taken by Ortega after Brady’s Super Bowl 39 win in 2005.

It turns out that when authorities recovered the most recent stolen Super Bowl jersey, they said they also recovered another stolen Brady jersey from Super Bowl 49.

“Efforts are being made right now to authenticate the jerseys,” Acevedo said.

Brady issued a statement through his agent saying, “I am happy that my jerseys from SB 49 and SB 51 have been recovered, and I want to thank all of the law enforcement agencies involved.  I know they worked hard on this case- and it is very much appreciated.  Hopefully, when I get the jerseys back I can make something very positive come from this experience.”

There’s no word yet on how soon Brady may be able to take possession of what was taken from him.

Ortega could face jail time or a $10,000 fine if convicted of theft, a class-one felony.

Cox Media Group