Detailed security footage shows the alleged journey of Tom Brady's stolen Super Bowl jersey
The strange case of Tom Brady's stolen Super Bowl jersey keeps getting weirder.
The piece of NFL history was allegedly stolen from Brady after the Patriots quarterback led a comeback win in Super Bowl 51 last month.
Now the shirt has been reportedly traced to a Mexican newspaper editor -- and security footage apparently shows just how Brady's jersey was allegedly swiped.
The New York Times reported Monday that stadium camera footage helped FBI agents identify Mauricio Ortega, a newspaper editor in Mexico City, as its prime suspect in jersey-gate. Then on Tuesday, Fox Sports shared footage from inside Houston's NRG Stadium that allegedly shows Ortega making off with Brady's jersey.
Here's the clip, which was shared by Jay Glazer on Colin Cowherd's radio show Tuesday morning. We'll break it down in a minute.
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Ortega has been identified as the editor of La Prensa, a daily newspaper in Mexico City. So far, he hasn't been charged for any crime.
When authorities confronted him about Brady's Super Bowl 51 jersey, they apparently got a surprise: Ortega also possessed a Brady jersey from Super Bowl 49, according to the Times, as well as a helmet believed to have been worn by Denver Broncos star Von Miller when Miller was named MVP of Super Bowl 50.
But it's Brady's missing jersey from this year that has dragged on for weeks as a bizarre, mysterious coda to Super Bowl 51. So let's break down the new security footage.
After the Pats' win, as Brady celebrates on the field, a person one assumes is an NFL or New England staffer is handed the quarterback's jersey.
This person dutifully brings the jersey back to the New England locker room, then leaves the locker room empty-handed.
Shortly after, cameras pick up Ortega milling about on the field.
He even manages to get some selfies with Patriots players.
Now here's New England coach Bill Belichick leaving the field while trailed by quite an entourage.
But wait! Look closer.
See that brightened section at the top of the frame below? Ortega seems to have glommed onto Belichick's entourage.
This apparently enabled Ortega to access the Pats' locker room before other reporters were let in.
Just chillin'.
Drinkin' a water. Super casual.
Here, Ortega stares right into the camera.
Ten minutes later, Ortega exits the Pats' locker room with a parcel under his left arm -- assumed to be Brady's missing jersey.
And he gives one last look back on his way out of town.
Unanswered questions remain. This footage doesn't account for everything -- namely, the 10 minutes between when we see Ortega loitering around the locker room and when see him exiting with something tucked under his arm.
Did cameras also catch the precise moment at which he allegedly swiped the jersey before leaving the locker room?
Stay tuned, gumshoes. Something tells me this case isn't over yet.
Topics Super Bowl
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
