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Super Bowl Ring History and Facts

Will Brown by Will Brown, May 07, 2025

Super Bowl ring

Since the inaugural NFL Super Bowl in 1967, the Super Bowl ring has become a coveted symbol of excellence. The Super Bowl ring history is storied and interesting, with the exclusive jewelry evolving in recent years to become intricately crafted designs from some of the world’s best craftspeople. But what did the rings first get awarded, and who receives them upon a championship win? In this guide, we’ve provided an in-depth rundown of the rings’ history and other interesting facts.

Intro to the History of All Super Bowl Rings

What better way to start this guide to all Super Bowl rings than by starting at the beginning? In the first section of this article, we’ve looked at the story and motivation behind awarding the first rings. We’ve then tracked their evolution to the luxurious statement pieces they are today.

From there, we’ve covered the process of how they’re created, with special attention given to some of the most prominent designers of the rings. We’ve then shared who exactly receives the rings, some other interesting facts, and the influence of the rings on other sports.

How the First Super Bowl Ring Was Created

Although the first Super Bowl ring kicked off a long and enduring tradition in the NFL, the league wasn’t the first to award such jewelry. The practice first began in Major League Baseball in 1922 when the New York Giants were awarded rings to celebrate their World Series ring.

This inspired the Green Bay Packers’ coach, Vince Lombardi, to award his team special rings to commemorate their win at the first Super Bowl in 1967. Designed by Lombardi and jeweler Jostens, the first ring was relatively simple and included only a single one-carat diamond embedded in 10-karat gold.

The design also included the NFL shield and the words “World Champions”, a design choice that has endured for all concurrent designs. While the inaugural rings were funded by Lombardi and the Packers, the NFL would later step up to help cover some of the costs of Super Bowl winners.

The Evolution of Super Bowl Rings

In the early years of Super Bowl ring history, the jewelry was relatively simple and modest. These included smaller diamonds and restrained designs. However, the designs continued to evolve over the 1970s, and by the 1980s, the rings grew larger and more complex, with elements that alluded to stories from the season.

For example, the Chiefs’ rings from their 2024 championship season include the championship years engraved into the band, a detailed illustration of Geha Field at Arrowfield, and 54 diamonds running around the signet that signify the combined 54-point deficits the Chiefs overcame in their previous two Super Bowl postseason runs.

One standard design element is the signifying of how many championships the team has won. This was first done by the Miami Dolphins in 1973, who, after winning the previous year’s championship, created a ring that included two encrusted diamonds. Now, it’s common for rings to include depictions of how many total trophies have been won.

In the early 2000s, the rings became more opulent, with the New England Patriots’ rings in 2001 featuring more than 140 diamonds. By their 2018 championship win, the rings contained more than 400 diamonds and 20 blue sapphires. Now, every new ring seems to be more lavish than the one that came before it.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2021 ring included a removable top that featured a replica of the team’s stadium inside, while the Denver Broncos’ rings from Super Bowl 50 were awarded in lavish boxes with a jewel-encrusted padlock. The NFL now contributes to the costs of up to 150 rings in conjunction with teams, offering between $5,000 and $7,000 per ring. You can check out photos of all Super Bowl rings at the official NFL site.

The Designers Behind the Rings

Just as there is a unique story to every Super Bowl ring, the choice of designers is often unique to the teams’ geographies or tastes. The Minnesota-based Jostens is behind a majority of the ring designs, with 38 of the 58 rings produced hailing from the company. This includes the first-ever design.

Other jewelers to be trusted with the rings’ construction include Tiffany & Co., Jason of Beverley Hills, and Balfours. These companies collaborate with team owners, players, coaches, and veteran players to design the rings, with the highly secretive process commencing shortly after the conclusion of the championship games.

Because of the intricacies of their construction and the number of rings awarded, they usually aren’t presented for several months after the Super Bowl. And while the NFL’s investment goes toward some of the costs, many modern rings cost upward of $50,000 to produce. Considering not just the players’ receive rings, the entire run tends to cost around $5 million.

Who Receives a Super Bowl Ring?

Initially, the first Super Bowl ring was only offered to the competing players to celebrate their victory. However, now teams tend to offer rings to far more than just the players, with team personnel, executives, trainers, equipment managers, stadium staff, and even players’ families being offered rings.

That said, not all of the rings are the same, with teams creating tiered systems for each recipient category. The “A” ring includes the most intricate designs and is offered to players, coaches, and top executives. The smaller and less lavish “B” version will then be awarded to the next tier of staff, while the basic “C” versions tend to include no diamonds and are awarded to low-level staff.

At this stage in Super Bowl ring history, it’s estimated that between 300 and 900 Super Bowl rings are created each year, though this entirely depends on the teams. Now, any player that holds an “A” tiered ring is usually a worthy option to back when it comes time to bet on the NFL online.

Interesting Facts About the Rings

As one of the most recognizable symbols in US sporting lore, the Super Bowl ring has become storied in its own right. When it comes to players with the most rings won, Tom Brady dominates the rankings with seven, thanks to his six wins with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick has eight to his name, with six as the Patriots’ head coach and two from his time spent as a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. As for franchises, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Patriots are tied with six championship wins each.

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are tied with five each, while the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four. When it comes to the resale value of the rings, these aren’t usually priced according to Super Bowl rings by year but rather the intricacy of the design or story behind it.

The record for the highest-valued ring was former Baltimore Colts head coach Don McCafferty’s piece from Super Bowl V, which fetched $300,000 in 2022. The second-most expensive ring belonged to Giants’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress, whose Super Bowl XLII ring was sold for $280,600 in 2025.

Perhaps the most famous story involving a ring involves Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, which was won after the Patriots’ third Super Bowl win in 2004. After showing the ring to visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2005, Putin took the ring and fled. Initially, Kraft stated that it was a gift, but he has since revealed that it was stolen.

The Influence of Super Bowl Rings

Although the first Super Bowl ring was inspired by the ring-giving tradition in MLB and the NBA, the NFL’s jewelry has since become the gold standard. Its evolution throughout the 1970s was believed to have inspired both leagues to step up their designs. Now, the championship rings for the Big Four US League rival the complexity of the NFL, with Jostens supplying many of them.

While the tradition has been a mainstay in US sports for over a century, other countries’ major leagues have recently been inspired by the NFL. This includes the AFL in Australia, which recently announced plans to award all players in a premiership team with a commemorative ring.

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