The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and team members to keep for themselves to symbolize their victory. [1] There are also rings provided to the runners-up team of the Super Bowl. [2]
Rings are also awarded to members of the team which wins the AFC or NFC championship. [3] [4] [5] The NFL also provides postseason pay to all players as long as they have spent at least three games on their team's active or reserve list; the playoff bonus money is spread evenly within a team among starters, backups, and injured players. [6]
These rings are typically made of yellow or rose gold with diamonds. They usually include the team name, team logo, the phrase, "World Champions,", and the Super Bowl number (usually indicated in Roman numerals). Many rings feature diamonds in the shape of the Vince Lombardi Trophy or a football, to illustrate the number of Super Bowls that the franchise has won. [7] Also, the rings are customized with the player's name and uniform number. The NFL contributes approximately $5,000-$7,000 per ring for up to 150 rings for the winning team; any additional costs are borne by the team. [8] Most rings are manufactured by memorabilia company Jostens. [9] [10] The rings are normally presented in an elegant box and/or display case.
The winning team can typically present any number of rings to whomever they choose, including usually, but not limited to: players (active roster, inactive roster, or injured reserve), coaches, trainers, executives, personnel, and general club staff. Some teams have given rings to former players and coaches that were on the team at some point during the season, despite not having been on the winning roster for the Super Bowl itself. [11] [12] Sometimes a team will make rings available to fans as part of a charity raffle. [13] A recent trend over the last 15–20 years has been to present lesser-valued rings to non-player and front office staff. These are commonly called "B" and "C" level rings (while the player rings would be considered "A" rings) and are smaller and contain fewer diamonds or imitation diamonds. The first instance of this was the Redskins Super Bowl XVII ring when many in the front office received rings that were not solid gold and contained cubic zirconia stones (which resemble diamonds). When Tampa Bay won Super Bowl XXXVII, the players and coaches received "A" rings with a diamond-centered Lombardi trophy. [14] Some staff received rings with a metal Lombardi trophy substituted, with real diamonds surrounding the trophy, while the "C" level ring did not contain any diamonds. Per the CBA, players that were on the winning team's practice squad at the time of the Super Bowl victory are also entitled to a ring, but it can be one of lesser value. [15]
The Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl XLV ring [16] contained more than 100 diamonds. The Packers logo, in the center of the ring, was made up of 13 diamonds, one for each championship title the team has won, dating back to 1929. The New England Patriots Super Bowl XLIX rings reportedly cost $36,500 each, making them the most expensive rings Jostens had ever produced at that time, only to be surpassed by the rings awarded for Super Bowl 50 and Super Bowl LI. [17] [18] The New England Patriots' Super Bowl LI ring has 283 diamonds, to commemorate their comeback from being down 28–3 versus the Atlanta Falcons late in the 3rd quarter, [19] about which Falcons owner Arthur Blank reportedly confronted Patriots owner Robert Kraft in August 2017 over his perceived "insult-by-karat". [20] The Philadelphia Eagles' ring for Super Bowl LII contains 127 diamonds on the bezel, which is the total from the numbers of the jerseys of the three players who handled the ball after the snap on the Philly Special trick play—Corey Clement (30), Trey Burton (88) and Nick Foles (9). [21] [22] The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ring for their Super Bowl LV victory contained 319 diamonds on the face to symbolize their 31–9 victory over Kansas City. That ring was also the first to have a removable top, which when opened reveals a hand-carved replica of Raymond James Stadium, where they became the first team to win a Super Bowl on their home field. [23]
In recent years, rings are typically presented in ornate display cases. After winning Super Bowl 50, the Denver Broncos rings were handed out in large, ornate boxes, complete with a decorative padlock and commemorative game ball. [24]
Replicas of the rings for various years are popular collectibles, along with genuine rings. [25] Dave Meggett is known to have placed his ring for sale on eBay. Two Super Bowl rings from the 1970 Steelers sold on eBay for over $69,000 apiece in mid-2008. [26] Patriots safety Je'Rod Cherry raffled his ring from Super Bowl XXXVI in November 2008 to benefit several charities working to help children in Africa and Asia. [27] Tight end Shannon Sharpe, meanwhile, gave his first Super Bowl ring to his brother Sterling, who had his career cut short by injury. [28]
In 2005, a minor international incident occurred when it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had taken a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft quickly issued a statement saying that he had given Putin the ring out of "respect and admiration" he had for the Russian people and Putin's leadership. [29] Kraft later said his earlier statement was not true, and had been issued under pressure from the White House. [30] [31] [32] [33] The ring is on display at the Kremlin, along with other "gifts". [34]
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![]() | This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Missing rings for Super Bowls LV and LVIII.(February 2024) |
The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game has been played on the second Sunday in February. Prior Super Bowls were played on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, late January from 1979 to 2003, and the first Sunday of February from 2004 to 2021. Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the eponymous coach who won the first two Super Bowls. Because the NFL restricts the use of its "Super Bowl" trademark, it is frequently referred to as the "big game" or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. The day the game is held is commonly referred to as "Super Bowl Sunday" or simply "Super Sunday".
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This ring is currently in the possession of a sports collector in Ottawa, Canada