New England Patriots

New info has come to light in the hunt for the Tom Brady Super Bowl jersey ... and could all come down to the search of an 18-wheeler that was packed up right after the game.

TMZ Sports spoke with law enforcement sources involved in the search who tell us they are "hopeful" the jersey was put on a team equipment truck destined for Boston.

We're told the truck was never thoroughly searched before it left NRG Stadium in Houston -- and contains all sorts of team and player equipment.

Our sources tell us the truck is scheduled to be unpacked in Boston on Thursday and cops are crossing their fingers the #12 jersey turns up!

Detective Shaq has joined the Tom Brady Super Bowl jersey investigation ... and he already has a theory -- INSIDE JOB!!!

FYI, Shaq has been a sworn reserve police officer with real law enforcement agencies in several states including California, Florida and Arizona. He even did some work with the Dept. of Justice.

So, with TB12's jersey still M.I.A. ... we asked Officer O'Neal (who was leaving the Oreo Dunk Challenge) if he had a hunch on who may have jacked the piece of Super Bowl history.

There's more ... Shaq also sets the record straight on his beef with his "Inside the NBA" co-star, Charles Barkley, and how things went down off camera following their heated exchange last week.

You think Gronk's Super Bowl party tear was gonna end after the parade? Hell no!!

The Patriots star raged all night long with Rick Ross -- chuggin' champagne onstage and dancing his face off ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

The Patriots continue to take L's following their Super Bowl LI win ... 'cause yet ANOTHER piece of history is nowhere to be found -- James White's game-winning touchdown ball.

After Tom Brady's game jersey was stolen from the Pats locker room, White told Dan Patrick he has NO IDEA what happened to the pigskin that broke the plane in O.T.

Note to future NFL champs -- HOLD ONTO YOUR STUFF.

Bill Belichick. Julian Edelman. The ball boys. Reporters. Robert Kraft.

The Houston Police Dept. says they're looking at EVERYONE who had access to the Patriots locker room to find out who stole Tom Brady's Super Bowl jersey ... 'cause right now they have no idea.

The Houston PD just addressed the media -- saying they're combing through lists of people who were in the locker room when the jersey went missing.

They're also asking for reporters and camera people to check video in the hopes someone caught the thief in the act.

Bottom line ... the jersey is still missing and cops don't seem to have any real leads.

It's 36 DEGREES in Boston right now ... and Rob Gronkowski has stripped off his shirt and is DOUBLE POUNDING BEERS at the Patriots Super Bowl parade.

Patriots fans braved the weather to welcome the Super Bowl LI Champs back to New England ... with Tom Brady leading the parade through the streets of Boston.

Bad news for Patriots running back James White -- he's NOT getting Tom Brady's Super Bowl MVP truck ... because the Super Bowl MVP didn't get one this year!

Of course, Brady DID get an MVP truck after Super Bowl 49 which he gave to Malcolm Butler -- back when Chevy was the Super Bowl MVP sponsor.

The QB told the media on Monday that he would give his Super Bowl 51 truck to James White -- who scored the winning TD -- but it turns out, there's no truck to give away.

An NFL spokesman tells TMZ Sports, "[There is] no vehicle. We did not do it last year either."

So, if Tom still wants to give White a truck -- he'll have to do it with his own money.

Julian Edelman says his Super Bowl miracle catch was more luck than skill -- and admits he wasn't even sure it was gonna count when the ref blew the whistle!!!

The New England Pats WR appeared on "The Tonight Show" with his coach, Bill Belichick, on Monday and, of course, they dissected the hell out of that insane 4th quarter game-saving catch.

"It was probably 70% luck," a very bearded Edelman said ... admitting he tried to get Tom Brady to rush the next play so the refs couldn't review it!

Didn't matter ... it was as legit as it gets and Jimmy Fallon says the WR should use his newfound global catch fame to start a new business!

Tom Brady returned to Boston looking every bit the conquering hero -- Super Bowl wins and private jets never get old for this guy.

Mr. 4-time SB MVP flew back with Gisele and their kids on the Under Armour private jet. Check out the gallery ... TB was a class act, handing off a tip for the staff.

The rest of the Patriots also got back to Boston Monday, but they flew a chartered Delta flight.

The Super Bowl LI champs are officially back in Beantown ... and were welcomed back with a water salute!!

The New England Patriots returned to Boston's Logan Airport Monday afternoon ... fresh off their HUGE comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Several ATL Falcons players went full REPTILE before the Super Bowl -- wearing expensive python skin warmup hoodies ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We've actually seen a bunch of NFL star rockin' the look -- from Ezekiel Elliott to Odell Beckham -- so we did some digging and found out they run about $500 a pop!

Falcons safety Jalen Collins actually bought the hoodies for his secondary unit as a Super Bowl gift ... this according to the company behind the clothing, Renzo Cardoni.

We're told some of the Patriots also got in on the look -- Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount also got custom made hoodies.

The New England Patriots turned ALL THE WAY UP after completing the greatest Super Bowl comeback. EVER.

The celebration went down right after the postgame ceremonies in the convention space next to NRG Stadium -- and featured performances by Lil Wayne and Pitbull ... and STK catering.

We're told Pats owner Bob Kraft made an appearance. Bill Belichick chose formal attire ... as did SB MVP Tom Brady. But the rest of the gang -- including Julian Edelman and Adriana Lima -- let loose.

Congrats!!!

The NFL security team is taking the lead on the Tom Brady missing Super Bowl uniform case ... not the Houston Police Dept. At least that's the situation right now ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Houston P.D. tells us they have been in contact with the NFL -- and are not launching an independent investigation at this point.

Our law enforcement sources tell us no one has filed a report with the Houston P.D. as of yet.

Several sports memorabilia dealers have told us the jersey is already being valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. So, if the jersey was stolen, it would be a felony grand larceny crime in Texas (anything over $1,500 is a felony). The more valuable the stolen item, the stiffer the punishment.

Brady says the jersey went missing after the game. He says he remembers putting it in his equipment bag but it wasn't there when he went back to his locker.

After stealing the Super Bowl from the Falcons, Tom Brady told Pats owner Bob Kraft HE was hit by a thief -- accusing someone of STRAIGHT JACKING his game jersey!!

Kraft was in the locker room handing out victory cigars to the players, when Brady voiced his issue to the boss.

Kraft didn't seem to care too much ... saying, "Well, you better look online!" Brady smiled.

Tom Leyden of FOX25 reported a Patriots equipment manager took the jersey and put it in a safe place for Tom -- it wasn't stolen!

But a new twist ... Tom just spoke at a news conference and said the jersey is STILL missing!

He also said he's concerned the jersey will end up on eBay.

The search continues ...

The Houston Police Department is expecting the worst outside the Super Bowl and is ready to combat a wave of Prez Trump protesters making noise about disrupting the game.

Our law enforcement sources say officers, in uniform and undercover, will monitor crowds outside NRG Stadium. We're told several online groups have popped up in recent days organizing protests -- some anti-Trump, some for Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock and refugees.

HPD has plenty of backup, having borrowed cops from around the country. As usual for the Super Bowl ... we're told SWAT will be posted nearby if protests turn into riots and get out of hand.