Robert Kraft, Rupert Murdoch Recall ‘Gifting’ Super Bowl Ring To Vladimir Putin

The Patriots were on top of the world after winning three Super Bowls in four seasons in the early 2000s, but things could have taken a drastic turn for Robert Kraft.

Episode seven of “The Dynasty” briefly took a look at the public attention New England received after establishing itself as one of the best teams in the NFL. In 2005, Kraft was invited to Russia along with then-Citigroup president Sandy Weill and media executive Rupert Murdoch to “stimulate commerce between the United States and Russia.”

It was suggested during a news conference that Kraft let Russian President Vladimir Putin hold his Super Bowl XXXIX ring. Things then got awkward, to say the least. Here’s an excerpt from “The Dynasty” about the incident and the directive from the then-George Bush administration.

Murdoch: We got there, and Putin emerged. Little guy but frightening figure.

Kraft: Putin was going out to speak to the media and asked us to stand behind him. Rupert Murdoch was standing right beside me, and I was told, ‘Why don’t you show the president your Super Bowl ring?’

Murdoch: The Super Bowl ring, it’s a very big, ostentatious thing. I wouldn’t say it’s in the best of taste, but the recipients wouldn’t agree with me.

Kraft: I pull the ring out of my pocket, and I gave it to him. He put it on, and then he looked at me, and he said ‘I could kill someone with this ring.’

Murdoch: ‘I could kill a man with this,’ and you know, we knew he damn well could.

Kraft: So I did a whiplash, and I said ‘Mr President, you could kill someone without it. You’re the head of the KGB.’ He took the ring off, I had my hand out, and he took the ring, put it in his side pocket, three KGB guys come around him and he’s off.

Murdoch: (Kraft) says ‘He’s still got my ring’ I said go and ask him, get him back. He says, ‘Oh I couldn’t do that.’

Kraft: Let’s just say somehow this story wound up in the New York Post and it became a global international story that Putin stole my ring. a call came in from the White House, and they said it would be good for US-Soviet relations if you mean to give him the ring as a gift. it was unbelievable the attention it got, but to tell you the truth, we were used to all the attention at this point in our lives.

Putin later offered to replace the ring, and while all sides look back on the incident with laughs, it’s not hard for the non-ultra-rich to wonder what really was going on in everyone’s minds that day.