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Super Bowl ring

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The Steelers Super Bowl XL ring
Joe Theismann's NFL rings (2006); his 1983 NFC Championship ring (left), and his 1982 Super Bowl XVII Championship ring (right)

The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itself, the Super Bowl ring offers a collectable memento for the actual players and team members to keep for themselves to symbolize their victory.[1]

In recent years rings are also awarded to members of the team who wins the AFC or NFC championship since they are the winners of the conference, even though they may not necessarily follow it up with a win in the Super Bowl.[2][3] The NFL also provides postseason pay to all players as long as they’ve spent at least three games on their team’s active or inactive list; the playoff bonus money is egalitarian within a team among starters, backups, and injured players.[4]

Details

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.[5] Also, the rings are customized with the player's name and uniform number. The NFL contributes up to $5,000 per ring for up to 150 rings for the winning team; any additional costs are borne by the team.[6] Most rings are manufactured by memorabilia company Jostens.

The winning team can typically present rings to whomever they choose, including usually, but not limited to: players (active roster or injured), coaches, trainers, executives, personnel, and general 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.[7][8] Sometimes a team will give rings to fans as part of a charity raffle.[9] Teams can distribute any number of rings. A recent trend over the last 15–20 years has been lesser rings awarded to front office staff. These are commonly called "B" and "C" level rings and are smaller and contain fewer diamonds or contain faux 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 rings with a diamond-centered Lombardi trophy.[10] Some staff received rings with a metal Lombardi trophy and real diamonds surrounding the trophy and the "C" level ring did not contain any diamonds.

The Green Bay Packers Super Bowl XLV ring[11] contained more than 100 diamonds. The Packer logo, in the center of the ring, made up 13 diamonds, one for each title the team has won, dating back to 1929. In a break from tradition, this is the first Super Bowl ring to be made of platinum, not gold.[citation needed] The New England Patriots Super Bowl XLIX rings reportedly cost $36,500 each, making them the most expensive rings Jostens has ever produced at that time, only to be surpassed by the rings awarded for Super Bowl L and Super Bowl LI.[12][13] 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.[14] Falcons owner Arthur Blank reportedly confronted Patriots owner Robert Kraft in August 2017 over his perceived "insult-by-karat".[15]

Value and resale

Replicas of the rings for various years are popular collectibles, along with genuine rings.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] Tight end Shannon Sharpe, meanwhile, gave his first Super Bowl ring to his brother Sterling, who had his career cut short by injury.[19]

In 2011, a Super Bowl ring belonging to Steve Wright, a lineman for the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s, sold for over $73,000 at auction. Three Super Bowl rings belonging to former Raiders' punter Ray Guy brought over $96,000 at auction. In 2012, Lawrence Taylor's son sold his father's Super Bowl ring from 1990 for more than $250,000.

In 2005, a minor international incident was caused 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.[20] Kraft later said his earlier statement was not true, and had been issued under pressure from the White House.[21][22][23][24] The ring is on display at the Kremlin, along with other "gifts".[25]

Most Super Bowl rings

See also

References

  1. ^ "New York Jets Super Bowl III rings turn 50 - Wild stories of buried treasure". Espn.com. January 22, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "First look at the Atlanta Falcons NFC Championship rings". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Brandin Cooks thanks Patriots for AFC Championship ring". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ^ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/how-much-money-the-patriots-get-for-winning-the-super-bowl.html
  5. ^ 4:14 PM ET, Tue January 8, 2019 (January 8, 2019). "Photos: All the Super Bowl rings". Cnn.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "How much does a Super Bowl ring cost? It depends". Christian Science Monitor. January 26, 2015. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  7. ^ Sando, Mike (December 16, 2007). "Week 15: Winter Leaves its Mark: Playoff Picture Remains Muddled". Last Call. ESPN.
  8. ^ Duncan, Jeff (September 28, 2011). "Former New Orleans Saints Player Steve Gleason Gets a Super Bowl Ring at an Emotional Party". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans.
  9. ^ d'Estries, Michael (September 21, 2010). "New Orleans Saints Raffle Super Bowl Ring for Gulf Spill Charities". Mother Nature Network.
  10. ^ "Do Super Bowl Rings Have Real Diamonds? Here's The Story Behind The Bling". Bustle.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Hunt, Michael (June 16, 2011). "Packers Marvel at Super Bowl Ring's Might". In My Opinion. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  12. ^ "How much does each Patriots Super Bowl ring cost?". Espn.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. ^ "Photos Of The Eagles Super Bowl Rings Show They're Not As Ostentatious As You Might Imagine". Romper.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  14. ^ "Familiar ring: Pats' SB bling has 283 diamonds". Espn.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Arthur Blank unhappy Kraft made 283-diamond rings". NFL.com. March 28, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  16. ^ "New York Jets Super Bowl III rings turn 50 - Wild stories of buried treasure". Espn.com. January 22, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "Steelers Super Bowl Rings Sold In Online Auction". Pittsburgh: WTAE-TV. July 21, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Je'Rod Cherry Super Bowl XXXVI Ring Raffle". Celebrities for Charities. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2009. This ring is currently in the possession of a sports collector in Ottawa, Canada {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Garber, Greg. "Super Bowl Ring 'a Symbol of Excellence'". ESPN. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  20. ^ "Super Bowl ring has 124 diamonds". ESPN. Associated Press. June 30, 2005. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  21. ^ Smith, Michael David (June 15, 2013). "Putin said 'I can kill someone with this', took Kraft's Super Bowl ring". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  22. ^ Farrar, Doug (June 15, 2013). "Robert Kraft says that Vladimir Putin stole his Super Bowl ring, which the Kremlin denies". Shutdown Corner. Yahoo! Sports.
  23. ^ Eshchenko, Alla; Karimi, Faith (June 16, 2013). "Russian president: I did not steal Super Bowl ring". CNN.
  24. ^ Swaine, Jon (June 16, 2013). "Vladimir Putin 'stole a $25,000 ring from New England Patriots owner'". The Telegraph. London.
  25. ^ Spokesman for Putin denies he stole Kraft's Super Bowl ring, profootballtalk.nbcsports.com, June 16, 2013.
  26. ^ Edholm, Eric (January 26, 2011). "Lord of the Rings". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Delozier, Dave (February 6, 2011). "7 Super Bowl Rings for a Coloradan". Denvery: KUSA-TV. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  28. ^ Varley, Teresa (February 27, 2007). "Long-Time Scout Bill Nunn Is a Man who Made a Difference" (Press release). Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  29. ^ Bouchette, Ed (February 20, 2010). "Steelers Scout Nunn Receives Honor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  30. ^ Varley, Teresa (February 12, 2009). "Greene one of few with six rings" (Press release). Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  31. ^ Mayer, Larry (March 6, 2012). "Former Bears Safety Boasts Five Super Bowl Rings" (Press release). Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  32. ^ Spofford, Mike (July 2, 2011). "One man has all four rings" (Press release). Green Bay Packers. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
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