updated 8:51 p.m. ET May 16, 2006

MILWAUKEE - Now that Jerry Kramer has his Super Bowl ring back, he plans to sell a replica to raise money for retired NFL players.

Kramer, a right guard who played for former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, lost his ring from the first Super Bowl 25 years ago. He got it back at a ceremony Tuesday in front of a statue of Lombardi at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

“This is a historic heirloom from Super Bowl I and an important piece of my legacy, one that I had anticipated passing on to my children,” the 70-year-old Kramer said in a statement. “It is a symbol of all my experiences and all my emotions from that era of my life.”

Kramer, who lives in Boise, Idaho, said the ring disappeared in 1981 when he was on an airline flight. He took it off to wash his hands in the restroom, and when he returned to retrieve it, the ring was gone.

The ring showed up last month in an auction on the Web site of Mastro Auctions, whose president pulled the ring after Kramer contacted him.

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The auction house plans to help Kramer sell the replica ring online May 22-26. He hopes to raise $30,000 or $40,000.

Kramer, who played with the Packers from 1958-68, said money raised will go toward players receiving inadequate pension and disability compensation from the league.

“I have always felt great concern and frustration regarding the condition of some of the retired players who helped build the league,” he said.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said players prior to 1959 were not originally in the NFL pension plan, though they were later added.

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