[+] EnlargeSuper Bowl XXXIX ring
AP Photo/NFL PhotosThe Patriots' Super Bowl XXXIX ring is encrusted with 124 diamonds.

Kraft, who was honored at Carnegie Hall's Medal of Excellence gala at the Waldorf-Astoria on Thursday, told the crowd at the event that Putin took his Super Bowl XXXIX ring when the Patriots owner visited St. Petersburg, Russia in 2005, even though he released a statement at the time saying that he gave the ring to Putin as a gift.

"I took out the ring and showed it to [Putin], and he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,'" Kraft told the crowd, according to the New York Post. "I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."

A spokesman for Putin, however, told CNN on Sunday that the ring was definitely given as a gift.

"What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird," Dmitry Peskov told CNN. "I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

Peskov told CNN that the ring now is at the Kremlin's library.

On Thursday night, Kraft told the crowd that he really wanted the 4.94-carat bauble back, admitting he'd gotten a call from the George W. Bush-run White House, saying, 'It would really be in the best interest of United States-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present.' "

This wasn't the first time the story surfaced, as Kraft's late wife, Myra, said in 2007 that the ring wasn't intended to be a gift.

NardDogNation wrote:I 100% believe Kraft, which is why I find this story to be so ****ing hilarious. Can you imagine the balls on Putin to pull a stunt like that though? Only thing that could make it better is if we send the Seal's to recover it, which becomes the basis for a summertime blockbuster movie.

Lol. that would be an instant classic. Better than Snakes on a plane.