When will players receive the 2023 Super Bowl championship rings?
Up to 150 rings could be ordered and produced for the team that win Super Bowl LVII - a process that takes time.
We are hours away from one of the biggest sports events of the year. The whole world will be tuning in for Super Bowl LVII as the Eagles and Chiefs head into battle in Glendale, both hoping to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy and claim their championship ring.
First of all, who is the manufacturer of the trophy?
Before we get onto the rings, let’s talk a little about the trophy. It is named in honor of the legendary Green Bay Packers coach, Vincent Thomas Lombardi, who guided his team to victory in the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968 and is widely considered to be the greatest coach in football history. The trophy depicts a football in a kicking position atop a concave base. It is made of sterling silver, stands 55.88 centimeters (22 inches) tall, weighs 3.2 kilograms (7 pounds), and has an estimated value of $50,000. New York-based jewelry and specialty design house Tiffany & Company have been in charge of manufacturing the Lombardi trophy since the first edition of the Super Bowl.
Everything you need to know about the championship rings
Jewelry maker Jostens is the maker of most of the Super Bowl rings - including the first ones, taking approximately four months to design, create, and distribute the rings; but there are also other designers who have participated in the development such as Tiffany & Co. and Balfour. Jostens Master Jeweler Miran Armutlu described the Super Bowl rings as “pieces of art that tell us a story of a championship”.
The NFL contributes an estimated $5,000 per ring (up to 150 rings) given to each member of the team, the remainder of the total cost is paid by the franchise that wins the Super Bowl title. The winning team are able present as rings as they like to whomever they choose - taking the Eagles current roster as an example, they have a total of 76 players between their active roster, reserves and injured reserves. Then there is coach Nick Sirianni plus the 23 members of his technical staff. Club executives, front office staff and employees could also get a ring so the total number that needs to be produced adds up pretty quickly.
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Obviously, designing and producing championship rings is a lengthy process so the winning team will have to wait a while before they get theirs. It usually takes around four months before the rings are ready, so the winners of Super Bowl LVII will probably get theirs sometime in mid-to late-June.
The first Super Bowl ring (bottom left in the above image) was a relatively simple design but as the game has grown in size, so have thew rings - the Denver Broncos Super Bowl 50 ring featured 2.0 Carats of marquis-cut diamonds and 15 sapphires set in 10K of yellow gold. Each of those rings was estimated to have cost $37,000 to produce but in general, the cost is kept a secret, as the costs and materials of the precious stones that each team decides to place on the commemorative ring vary greatly.
The auction record for one of these championship rings was set in 2012, the piece belonged to Lawrence Taylor, winner of Super Bowl XXV with the New York Giants, and sold for $230,401.
The tradition of handing out championship rings was adopted by the NFL from the MLB; Well, it was in the 1922 World Series when the Giants delivered a commemorative piece to their players, after defeating the Yankees.
