New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave President Trump a ‘World Champions’ diamond Super Bowl ring after his team visited the White House.
The ring is bejeweled with 280 diamonds, with white gold weighing in at 10 karats, and is the same type awarded to players and staff on the championship team.
The longtime Trump friend decided to give the memento after Trump rolled out the red carpet and gave the team face time as well as a tour they considered the best among a run of visits by the successful franchise, USA Today reported, citing a Patriots spokesman.
When the team met with Trump at a televised ceremony, they presented the president with more humble gifts: the customary jersey and football helmet.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft presented President Donald Trump with a diamond Super Bowl ring after the team’s April White House visit
‘It’s a distinct honor for us to celebrate what was unequivocally our sweetest championship with a very good friend and somebody whose mental toughness and strength I greatly admire,’ Kraft said at the time, vouching for Trump in the first months of his presidency.
Kraft also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly associated himself with the Patriots, touting support from Kraft, coach Bill Belichick, and star quarterback Tom Brady.
‘They’ve been friends for years. The worst time in my dad’s life, this guy was there for him,’ son Josh Kraft told the Boston Globe in April, referencing the 2011 death of Myra Kraft.
Teams get to customize their rings, but must pay for anything over the base price covered by the National Football League.
The Patriots 2016 Super Bowl ring has 280 diamonds
Trump regularly touted his connections to quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots leadership during the campaign
President Donald Trump, center, displays a jersey while standing with Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots football team, left, and Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots LP, right, during a welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Trump welcomed the New England Patriots into the Oval Office, honoring a football team that is as publicly divided about his presidency as much of the rest of the country
The Patriots’ 2016 ring says ‘World Champions.’ Inside bears the inscription: ‘We are all Patriots’ and ‘greatest comeback ever,’ in reference to the teams rout of the Atlanta Falcons, according to USA Today.
Most presidential gifts go straight to the National Archives under the terms of the The Foreign Gifts and Declarations Act of 1966. The current value on a gift a president may accept is capped at $375.
Gifts the president receives can later get transferred to a future Trump presidential library. Trump has the option of purchasing the ring if he chooses to keep it for himself.