New York Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie has been with the team since his rookie season in 2007, meaning he was on both of the Eli Manning-led teams that took down the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
As such, DeOssie is the proud owner of two Super Bowl rings that commemorate those historic victories.
Well, he was.
Tragedy recently befell the Giants co-captain when he and his wife were raising money for first-generation college students from low-income families. After raising $65,000, DeOssie accidentally left his two rings on the roof of his wife’s car and didn’t realize until they got home.
DeOssie told NJ.com that he and his wife “turned the house upside down” looking for them, and believed that he might have been the victim of theft.
But he received an e-mail from his neighbor the next day that shed light on the fate of his rings.
“The next morning I got an email from a neighbor saying he found one of my two rings underneath the remnants of what my Super Bowl box was,” DeOssie said. “It looked like it got wrecked or run over at some point, or just flat-out fell on the ground. I went over to his house, gave him a hug and thanked him. The ring was in perfect condition.”
DeOssie’s neighbor returned his 2007 ring to him, but it appears that the 2011 ring is gone for good. The rings are valued at $15,000 and $19,000 respectively, per NJ.com.
The longest-tenured Giant after Manning says he still is hoping for a miracle but plans to be more careful with the replacement ring he gets.
“I’m hoping I get another email from a neighbor,” DeOssie said, “but it’s been two months at this point. Some people leave coffee on top of their cars, I unfortunately left my ring.”
