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NFL memorabilia is a huge market, and there are always collectors willing to pay top dollar, especially when it involves Patrick Mahomes. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is one of the top young stars in the league and has already been to two Super Bowls in his four years as a starter. His signed jerseys go for as much as $500, helmets fetch around $800, and apparently, there is a market for counterfeit Super Bowl rings as well.
US Customs and Border Protection intercepted a package on Monday that was said to contain counterfeit memorabilia that included the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback's merchandise. The package was shipped from China to Florida. 80 fake Kansas City Super Bowl rings were found within the package, many of which had Patrick Mahomes' name and number engraved on them. If you aren't aware, Mahomes has the only real one in his possession.
30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl rings, 10 NBA Milwaukee Bucks championship rings, and 110 MLB Atlanta Braves championship rings were also found in the package. In all, the estimated value of the contents is around $345,000. According to US Customs, this is the second largest package of counterfeit memorabilia they have seized this year. In January, the feds confiscated 56 packages containing more than 1,300 fake championship rings and trophies that would have been worth more than $1 million if they were validated to be real.
Patrick Mahomes is just one of many who have fake memorabilia being circulated in the market
US Customs has been cracking down hard on eliminating fakes and counterfeits from the lucrative business of sports memorabilia. Over the last few years, thousands of fakes worth several million have been seized. In 2021, three large shipments were found that included over 600 fake championship rings from various teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Green Bay Packers, and Kansas City Chiefs.
CBP states that these criminals are using e-Commerce to try to cover up their illegal shipments from China to the US. On average, more than $3 million worth of items that violated Intellectual Property Rights were seized back in 2020. CBP warns all buyers and collectors to double-check who they are buying from and to also have some common sense. If you see a site that sells more than one Super Bowl ring of a certain player, like Patrick Mahomes, at a steal of a rate, then it's too good to be true.
