Robert Kraft Auctioning Super Bowl LI Ring For All In Challenge
BOSTON (CBS) -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft has thrown his hat into the All In Challenge. Or rather, he's thrown in one of his six Super Bowl rings.
Kraft has put his championship bling from New England's epic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI up for bid, all to support the All In Challenge. The global fundraiser is looking to raise tens of millions of dollars to feed those in need during the coroanvirus pandemic.
Kraft said he chose his Super Bowl LI ring, which is made up of 283 diamonds to commemorate New England's 28-3 comeback, since it's a signal of his team's resilience.
"I've been giving a lot of thought to the front-line healthcare workers, the doctors, the nurses, the support staff, the EMS people, intensive care people, and my heart goes out to them all because they're putting their lives on the line every day. And what could I do that would be special? I've been thinking about it for weeks," Kraft said in his video announcement Sunday night. "I finally thought about our experience in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons in Houston. When with 2:30 minutes left in the third period we were down 28-3 and had a .04 percent chance of winning -- a 99.6 percent chance to lose. And we came back, and we won.
"I thought about what is going on at this time and wanted to give something of extreme value in support of our health care workers. So I thought it would be good to give this ring -- our fifth Super Bowl win -- because it showed how we came back," said Kraft. "We're the greatest country in the world, with the greatest people, who feel a sense of team and work together in the toughest times. So I want to give this ring to someone who will feel worthy enough to bid it up, so we can get meals to all these people who are hurting badly at this time."
Kraft made his announcement Sunday night with the bidding starting at $75,000. The ring is now up to $330,000 as of Monday morning, with 10 more days to bid. (Click here to see/bid.) The winning bidder will also get to visit with Kraft in his Gillette Stadium office, join the Patriots owner for a meal, and will get a ride from the team to Foxboro -- whether that's from a team car for a local winner, or a flight on one of the Patriots' famous AirKrafts if the winner is out of state.
The Patriots owner said he was asked to participate by his friend Michael Rubin, the founder and chairman of Fanatics, which created the All In Challenge. So far, it has raised over $38 million to help provide food to kids, the elderly, frontline workers and anyone in need.
