Notarized documents show Damien Berry sold his Super Bowl ring

Although former Ravens running back Damien Berry has denied selling his Super Bowl XLVII ring, notarized documents provided to The Baltimore Sun by Goldin Auctions contradict his version of events.

In a telephone interview, Ken Goldin, the founder of Goldin Auctions, said that Berry and witness Brian Levine, went to a Wells-Fargo bank in Florida to have the sales contract notarized. Goldin said that Berry displayed his driver's license to an authorized, licensed notary before being given two cashier's checks that the NFL player then cashed at the bank.

A copy of one cashier's check in the amount of $10,000 from Wells-Fargo made out to Berry was emailed to The Sun. The documents show that the purchase agreement was signed and executed on Aug, 30, 2013.

Goldin said that the ring was later sold to an undisclosed third party, which then consigned it to Goldin Auctions.

"We feel like our credibility has been questioned by Damien, and I feel like he's injuring the sale of the ring," Goldin said. "We wanted to set the record straight and assure the winning bidder on the ring to know that we have full authorization to sell the ring and they will own it clear and unencumbered. 

"I don't know why Damien is doing this, but I can only imagine that Damien is embarrassed. You don't see [former Ravens linebacker] Jamie Sharper saying anything. As a business owner, I'm obligated to defend our business practices."

Attempts to reach Berry on Monday were not successful. Berry told The Sun last week that a friend put the ring up for sale without his knowledge to an undisclosed third party, which then sold it to Goldin Auctions.

"I would never knowingly sell my Super Bowl ring," Berry said. "I'm not that kind of guy. That's not me. The ring means a lot to me and I want to do whatever it takes to get it back. This isn't what I'm about."

Goldin emphasized that the witnessed, notarized sales agreement will be provided to the winning bidder of the online auction at www.GoldinAuctions.com
The minimum bid for Berry's ring, shown here on the auction website -- is $15,000. As of Monday afternoon, the highest of five bids was $36,603.

The auction includes Sharper's Super Bowl XXVI ring, which has a current high bid of $16,106, former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis' personal Super Bowl XXXV trophy, which has no bids yet and a minimum bid of $7,500, and former Baltimore Colts defensive back and kick returner Lester Lyles' 1958 NFL championship ring. The highest bid on Lyles' ring is $2,925.

Berry is a former University of Miami player who spent the 2012 season on injured reserve. He was released by the Ravens before the 2013 regular season.
"This isn't a good look, I know that, but I swear this didn't start with me," Berry said last week. "I have a lawyer who's working with me to try to get the ring back. I was shocked when people starting coming at me on Twitter about what's up with my Super Bowl ring. It's definitely upsetting, but everything will be all right."


(baltimoresun.com)