Highly detailed security footage shows the entire route taken by Tom Brady's alleged jersey thief
Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl 51 jersey has been found, thanks to a joint investigation by NFL security, the Houston Police Department, and the FBI.
The alleged jersey thief is a Mexican journalist named Mauricio Ortega, who reportedly resigned from tabloid newspaper La Prensa on March 14, citing personal reasons. As a result of the investigation, Brady's jersey from Super Bowl 49 (which had also gone missing), was also reportedly found, along with gear belonging to Von Miller from Super Bowl 51.
On Tuesday, NFL insider Jay Glazer released security footage he obtained from the Super Bowl, which shows Ortega nonchalantly entering the Patriots' locker room, idly milling about (and even looking directly at the camera), and then quickly leaving with something tucked under his arm.
Glazer told FS1 host Colin Cowherd that he had more than two hours of footage, but cut it down to just over two minutes to give the viewers a clear sense of what happened.
First, we see Ortega on the field after the game has ended:
Then, he coolly joins an entourage of people behind Bill Belichick and walks into the locker room.
This is well before the media were allowed into the locker room. According to Glazer, Ortega did not have the proper pass to be in the locker room at this time.
He lingers around the locker room, which Glazer said was not yet populated by other reporters. And look! He sneaks a glimpse directly at the camera.
Shortly thereafter, Ortega leaves the locker room with something tucked under his left arm:
And as he exits the tunnel, he looks back towards the security guards. Glazer speculated that Ortega was looking to see if anybody was on to him.
According to Glazer, Brady's game-worn jersey from Super Bowl 51 is valued at roughly $500,000, the estimated value the jersey would have fetched in an open auction.
Here's the full segment, via FS1: