NFL
The Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl Rings Include More Than 250 Diamonds and a Sweet Historical Tribute
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterPublished02 Sep 2020
As the cliche says, “to the victor go the spoils.” In February, the Kansas City Chiefs claimed victory in the Super Bowl; on Tuesday night, they got their reward in the form of championship rings.
Unsurprisingly, the Kansas City Chiefs followed the modern trend of making every championship ring as massive as possible. Beyond the diamonds and rubies, though, the club made sure to include quite a few historical details in their jewelry.
The Kansas City Chiefs finally won another Super Bowl title
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In the AFL’s dying days, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings to claim victory in Super Bowl 4. After 50 years of waiting, the club finally managed to win the big game for a second time.
For years, the Chiefs’ biggest problem was finding a franchise quarterback; while guys like Trent Green and Matt Cassel were solid, you weren’t building an entire team around their talents. Drafting Patrick Mahomes, however, changed everything.
During his first full season under center, Mahomes proved he was something special. The young quarterback took to Andy Reid’s offensive scheme with incredible ease, throwing for more than 50,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. The Chiefs’ campaign, however, would end in disappointment as they fell in heartbreaking fashion in the AFC title game.
Although 2019 looked like a disappointing encore—Mahomes missed time with a knee injury and, at one point, the Chiefs slumped to 5-3—the club pulled everything together. Coming out of their bye week, KC ran the table and secured a first-round bye; after three postseason comebacks, they were Super Bowl champions.
More than 250 diamonds
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In modern times, Super Bowl rings have developed into more of a trophy than a piece of wearable jewelry, with each team seemingly trying to one-up the others. After waiting 50 years to claim their second championship, the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t going to miss their chance to guild the lily.
“The Super Bowl 54 championship ring boasts a total of 10 and a half carats of gemstones, including 255 diamonds and 36 genuine rubies,” team chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said, according to Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star. “The centerpiece, the ring top, is the Chiefs’ arrowhead logo composed of 60 diamonds in honor of the franchise’s 60th season, and 16 cut rubies, which represents our 10 AFC West division titles and six playoff appearances under Coach [Andy] Reid.”
Those aren’t the only gems on the ring, though. The face alone contains 172 more diamonds.
“Fifty diamonds surround the logo in the shape of the Lombardi Trophy to mark the 50 years between Super Bowl victories,” Hunt continued. “An additional 122 diamonds cascade along the rings’ top edges marking the club’s 22 playoff appearances and the 100th season of the National Football League.” Each ring also includes the player’s number on one side; it, of course, is set with more diamonds.
The Chiefs’ Super Bowl ring also honors Lamar Hunt
In addition to the diamonds and rubies, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rings contain plenty of details, ranging from the 2019 team motto to the Arrowhead Stadium crowd’s decibel level. One inclusion, however, is a bit more sentimental.
On the palm of the ring, there’s an inscription of a football with the initials L.H. inside. Those refer to the Chiefs’ founder and original owner, Lamar Hunt. He didn’t just own the team, though; Hunt played a role in founding the AFL, helping the upstart league merge with the NFL, and, perhaps most famously, came up with the term ‘Super Bowl.
Since Hunt died in 2006, the Kansas City Chiefs have worn an AFL patch with his initials on their jerseys. Now, he’s a part of their Super Bowl rings, too.
