The New England Patriots were the first professional sports team to make the now-traditional White House visit during President Donald Trump’s term. That the Patriots would attend was a given: team owner Robert Kraft is a friend of Trump (he made at least one visit to Trump Tower in the days following the election last November), head coach Bill Belichick wrote Trump a pre-election letter of support, and quarterback Tom Brady has called Trump a friend.
And while Kraft presented Trump with a jersey and helmet at the team’s visit in April (Brady did not attend), he added another, shinier gift: his own Super Bowl LI ring.
Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey James confirmed to CSNNE.com and USA Today Sports that Kraft had made the gesture.
According to James, Kraft decided that the ring was fitting because the Patriots were the first professional sports team to visit during Trump’s administration.
Just as the ring given to players and coaches, Trump’s ring is customized, and is similar to the one they received. The NFL does cover the cost of 150 rings at about $5,000-$7,000 each (New England’s, which feature 280 diamonds, likely cost much more than that), and there are no rules on who can receive the rings; any expense over the allocation from the league is absorbed by the team.
Kraft also gave a ring to Tom Brady’s mother, Galynn, who fought cancer during the 2016 season but was healthy enough to be on hand in Houston for the Patriots’ historic win over Atlanta.
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But Trump may not be able to keep the ring: there is a value limit, currently $375, to gifts accepted by presidents, and the ring is supposed to go into the National Archives. James said the hope was the ring would be included in Trump’s presidential library after his time in office.
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