Texas Rangers joining hunt for Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jersey

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Hours after visibly upset and perturbed New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady informed owner Robert Kraft that his game-worn Super Bowl LI jersey was nowhere to be found, the highly valuable piece of sports history remains missing.

Following the Patriots' epic Super Bowl comeback victory Sunday night over the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium engineered by Brady, the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player searched in vain for the iconic No. 12 jersey in the locker room and told Kraft: "Someone stole my game jersey."

And Kraft replied while handing out victory cigars: "Are you serious? Well, you better look online!"

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During a press conference Monday morning where he was given the annual Super Bowl Most Valuable Player trophy from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the 12-time Pro Bowl selection said the jersey is still gone. There was an erroneous report from a Boston television station that the Patriots' equipment manager has the jersey, but that wasn't the case. Brady is apparently the victim of thievery.

Brady didn't say if he had intended to give the jersey to his mother, Gaylnn, who's been bravely battling cancer.

"The jersey, yeah, I put it in my bag and then I came out and it wasn’t there anymore," Brady said Monday. "It’s unfortunate because that’s a nice piece of memorabilia, so if it shows up on eBay somewhere, someone let me know. Try to track that down."

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady center, walks in the on field crowd after the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) less New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady center, walks in the on field crowd after the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer ... more Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 383 Caption Close Texas Rangers joining hunt for Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jersey 1 / 383 Back to Gallery

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has offered to help recover the missing jersey, enlisting the Texas Rangers to investigate and try to hunt it down.

"We have been looking into this disappointing matter and will continue to assist law enforcement authorities," an NFL spokesman said.

The Houston Police Department directed inquiries about the Brady jersey to NFL security.

The Houston Police Department also Tweeted: "HPD Major Offenders is working with NFL security & state & local law enforcement officials to investigate theft of Tom Brady's SB51 jersey."

It's unclear if there's video surveillance at NRG Stadium that would have footage inside the Patriots' locker room to help apprehend any suspects.

"In Texas we place a very high value on hospitality and football. Tom Brady's jersey has great historical value and is already being called 'the most valuable NFL collectable ever,'" Patrick wrote in a statement. "It will likely go into the Hall of Fame one day. It is important that history does not record that it was stolen in Texas.

"I'm a Texans and Cowboys fan first, but the unquestionable success of the Super Bowl in Houston last night was a big win for our entire state, and I don't want anything to mar that victory. Whoever took this jersey should turn it in. The Texas Rangers are on the trail."

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Brady offered some big-picture perspective on the incident, though.

He's now the winningest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history with five Vince Lombardi trophies, more than the four apiece of Joe Montana, his childhood idol, and Terry Bradshaw.

The seemingly ageless 39-year-old is a four-time Super Bowl MVP and a two-time league MVP who's married to supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

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It's good to be Tom Brady, who took home a shiny Pete Rozelle MVP trophy Monday morning.

"It’s an honor to be here and have the commissioner present us with this trophy," Brady said. "It certainly means a lot. My kids will be happy to see that trophy. They always ask, ‘Daddy, what about the trophy?’ I get to bring them one home, so it was pretty cool."