At the end of the NFL season, when the last two teams are standing and fighting it out in the Super Bowl, the winning team will hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The trophy is then handed over to the franchise and kept somewhere within the confines of the team facilities. While the Lombardi Trophy is franchise property, the individuals who helped the team win the Super Bowl are also awarded a ring as memorabilia, called a Super Bowl ring. Let us find out how the players, coaches, and other personnel get their rings and whether they have to pay for them.
Who pays for the Super Bowl rings?
The Super Bowl rings come with a very heavy price tag and range between $30,000 to $50,000 apiece as reported by Sports Illustrated. Well, the rings are paid for in part by the NFL with the balance amount paid by the respective franchises. The NFL provides each franchise a fixed amount anywhere between $5,000 to $7,000 per ring and for a total of 150 rings. The rings usually cost way more than that, which means that the team owners have to shelve out the remaining amount from their pockets.
Does everyone on the team get Super Bowl rings?
As far as who gets a Super Bowl ring and who doesn’t get one is concerned, it depends completely upon the franchise and who they want to give the rings to. Having said that, most franchises will hand out rings to all players on the roster, the practice squad players, the coaches and executives, as well as the various staff but there is no specific limit to who else can or cannot get rings. Certain franchises have been known to hand out rings even to their cheerleading squad as reported by Yahoo.
Some examples of team owners giving Super Bowl rings to those not on the team include the Denver Broncos when they won Super Bowl 50. The franchise gave rings to the cheerleaders, the trainers, and the team’s beat reporter. On the other hand, the New Orleans Saints decided to give a ring to special teams player Steve Gleason even though he was not part of the team anymore. In an unfortunate incident, Gleason had to retire after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (via Yahoo).
Does everyone receive the same ring?
Not everyone associated with the team and who has got a ring receives the same one. For starters, most of the top players and coaches as well as executives receive a ring with their customized names engraved on it.
In addition to this, several members who are non-players or members of the front office receive rings that are of lesser value than the ones given out to the others. Most commonly they are called the "B" and "C" level rings. These rings are typically smaller with fewer diamonds and sometimes also contain imitation diamonds in place of authentic ones.
FAQs on Super Bowl Rings
A. As reported by Sports Illustrated, on an average it costs around $30k to $50k.
A. Some of the players and coaches have been known to have gotten Super Bowl rings despite not being on the roster at the time of the Super Bowl.
A. Whether or not cheerleaders and other staff will get Super Bowl rings completely depends upon the respective franchise.
