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The story behind the Luke Kuechly gnome and how it became so popular

Related Topics: Luke Kuechly, Gnome, Super Bowl

With all the attention being paid to Tom Brady’s missing Super Bowl jersey, we can’t help but think of another sports mystery that has haunted Charlotteans for an entire year: The whereabouts of the Luke Kuechly gnome.

A 30-second CPI Security commercial featuring a Kuechly gnome first aired in January 2016 – when the Carolina Panthers were in the Super Bowl – and it instantly became one of the NFL’s most pursued collectables.

“People went crazy,” says Heidi Cowley of CPI.

How crazy?

“At a live auction, one sold for $16,000, the price of a car,” she said, noting the bidding was at an event to benefit St.