Vladimir Putin Denies Stealing Superbowl Ring, Says He'll Buy Robert Kraft Another - But Is Keeping The One He Has

Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying allegations that he stole New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's $25,000 Super Bowl ring, saying it was a gift.

The Superbowl ring is on display in the Kremlin, but Putin says he'd gladly buy him another ring as a gift.

The incident in question occurred in 2005, when Kraft and a group of businessmen met with Vladamir Putin in St. Petersburg. Kraft said,

"I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin)," Kraft said this week, per the New York Post. "And he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,' I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."

That sounds...kind of terrifying. Kraft says he called the White House about the incident, and a George W. Bush handler told him, "It would really be in the best interest of U.S.-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present."

Kraft protested, explaining the staffer that he had an emotional tie to the ring and would like it back. There was a pause and the staffer repeated, "It would really be in the best interest of U.S.-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present."

By the way, the Soviet Union had dissolved 14 years before then. But OK.

The official word at the time was quickly, "I showed the president my most recent Super Bowl ring," and that Putin "was clearly taken with its uniqueness ... at that point, I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and the leadership of President Putin."

Hmm. Even that sounds insincere. Now, however, a Putin rep denies the claim, saying that Kraft's comments were "weird".

"I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift," the spokesman said.

And a Patriots spokesman backpedalled too, saying,

"It's a humorous, anecdotal story that Robert re-tells for laughs.He loves that his ring is at the Kremlin and, as he stated back in 2005, he continues to have great respect for Russia and the leadership of President Putin. In particular, he credits President Putin for modernizing the Russian economy. An added benefit from the attention this story gathered eight years ago was the creation of some Patriots fan clubs in Russia."

All these official statements sound pretty coded, we have to say (modernizing the Russian economy? Soviets?).

Still, maybe Kraft should take Putin up on his offer. A new $25k ring sounds pretty sweet. Can he request diamonds?