Here’s How Much a Super Bowl Ring Is Really Worth
NFL players and coaches’ ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl. When it happens, everyone on the team gets a Super Bowl ring. These rings have evolved through the decades, and now they’re some of the most extravagant pieces of jewelry you’ll ever see. Here’s a look at how Super Bowl rings are made and how much a Super Bowl ring is worth.
How much does it cost to make a Super Bowl ring?
It’s hard to get an exact number concerning the cost of a Super Bowl ring because teams don’t publicize that information. However, one thing we do know is that the NFL pitches in $5,000 per ring for up to 150 rings. The Super Bowl-winning team is on the hook for the rest of the cost.
This is a significant cost for the team because the gemstones themselves cost thousands of dollars. This doesn’t even include the price of the rings’ precious metals, like gold. In all, a set of Super Bowl rings usually costs about $5 million, which averages out to more than $33,000 per ring if you assume a full set includes 150 rings.
What are Super Bowl rings made of?
Each year’s Super Bowl ring is comprised of different things. Usually, the winning franchise likes to use gemstones that match the team colors. When the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, for example, their rings featured a lot of green gemstones. Specifically, they requested rings made of 10-karat white gold, 219 diamonds, and 17 green sapphires.
The 2016 Patriots received the most decorated Super Bowl rings. They also used 10-karat white gold, and they were decorated with 283 diamonds and five carats of precious stones. The 2010 Packers were the first team to deviate from the formula of crafting rings primarily from gold and diamonds; they chose a ring set in platinum.
How much is a Super Bowl ring worth?
This is highly dependent on the specific ring. Since each team’s design is different, each year’s jewelry has a different value. And not all rings are equal, even within the same team. When the Patriots won a Super Bowl, for example, Tom Brady’s ring was more valuable than his teammates’ rings. Plus, the players’ jewelry is more valuable than off-field personnel’s.
Pawn Stars‘ Rick Harrison estimates that a ring from any Patriots player in any year — even benchwarmers — can bring in $40,000 to $50,000. Rings from teams with the biggest followings go for the most money. As for actual sales, Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl XXV ring has sold for the most money, going for $230,401 in 2012.
Interesting facts about Super Bowl rings
Brady has six Super Bowl rings, which is the most of all time. Charles Haley is second with the five he won with the 49ers and Cowboys in the ’80s and ’90s. The record for the largest Super Bowl ring ever belongs to William “Refrigerator” Perry. The former defensive lineman needed a size 25 band for his ring when his 1985 Bears won the Super Bowl. It was so large it required multiple machines to make, according to manufacturer Jostens.
The Minnesota-based jewelry company, who’s made Super Bowl rings for more than 30 winning NFL teams, says the process of designing, manufacturing, and distributing the jewelry takes about four months. The winning teams are heavily involved in the design process. And Jostens says the main objective is “to capture the story of the season.”
