The Kansas City Chiefs just released the hype video for their Super Bowl LVIII ring featuring 2022 rookies cornerback George Karlaftis and defensive end Trent McDuffie, hailing, “Greatness never goes out of style.”
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Missouri native Jon Hamm provided the voice to the video.
Both Karlaftis and McDuffie joined the Chiefs in 2022 and have earned two Super Bowl wins in two seasons.
The Chiefs first won the Super Bowl in 1969, for Super Bowl IV. The event was very low key almost 80 years ago. The rings were given to the player with a small wooden plaque with the message, “Remember that you are World Champions. Handle yourself with class and style, grace and dignity,” signed by Hank Stram, the head coach.
The next time the team won was half a century later in Super Bowl LIV in 2019. Due to the pandemic, most of the players didn't get to show it off to a lot of people. But they made up for it the next time the ring came to their possession in Super Bowl LVII in 2022. After the team celebrated in Kansas City in June 2023, defensive end Mike Danna said that he's barely seen that ring as he took it to his parents' house in Michigan.
However, he has plans for the next one: “If I get another one, that one will be for me.”
Super Bowl Rings 101
Super Bowl rings are usually made of yellow or rose gold with diamonds. It's typically includes the team name, logo, the phrase “World Champions” and the Super Bowl number (usually in Roman numerals). A lot of the rings also feature diamonds shaped into the Vince Lombardi trophy or a football, to indicate how many Super Bowls the franchise has won. It's also customized with the player's name and jersey number.
The National Football League contributes anywhere between $5,000 to $7,000 for each ring up to 150 rings for the Super Bowl winner. Additional costs are paid out by the team.
The winning team can give the rings to whomever they choose. These typically include players (either active, inactive or injured reserve), coaches, trainers, executive, personnel and general club staff. Some teams have also presented the rings to former players and coaches that were on the team during the season, even though they weren't on the winning roster during the Super Bowl itself. Some teams will also give away rings to fans in a charity raffle.
Not all rings are made equal
One of the recent trends in the last two decades has been to give lesser-value rings to non-players as well as front office staff. These are called B and C level rings, with the players' A rings. These rings are usually smaller and have fewer diamonds or gems that mimic the appearance of a diamond. The first time this was done was when the Washington (then called Redskins) gave out Super Bowl XVII rings to their front office staff that weren't solid gold and with cubic zirconia.
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, the players and coaches received a diamond-centered Lombardi trophy while some of the staff had metal in place of the diamond for the trophy, and real diamonds surrounding it.
According to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, practice squad members of the winning team at the time of the Super Bowl win can also receive a ring, but of a lesser value.
When the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV, their ring had more than 100 diamonds. The team's logo was made up of 13 diamonds to indicate the championship title the Packers had won at the time from 1929.
The New England Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX rings were reported to have cost $36,500 each, which at the time made it the most expensive rings Jostens (which makes the rings) had produced. These were surpassed by the Super Bowl L and Super Bowl LI rings.
The Patriots' Super Bowl LI ring had 283 diamonds to signify their being down 28-3 against the Atlanta Falcons in the late third quarter. Falcons owner Arthur Blank allegedly confronted Patriots owner Robert Kraft in 2017 over what was then called the “insult-by-karat.”
The following year, the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl LII ring had 127 diamonds on the bezel. This was the total of the jersey numbers of the three players who handled the ball after the Philly Special trick play from Nick Foles (9), Corey Clement (30) and Trey Burton (88).
For Super Bowl LV, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ring had 319 diamonds on the face to indicate their 31-9 victory of the Chiefs. It was the first ring to have a removable top. When opened, it revealed a hand-carved replica of the Raymond James Stadium, since they were the first team to win a Super Bowl on their home field.
In the last few years, the Super Bowl rings are usually presented in lavish display cases. When the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl L, their rings were given out in large embellished boxes as well as an ornate padlock and a commemorative game ball.
The latest Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl ring
The Chiefs' latest, won for Super Bowl LVIII, has 10 diamonds under the inscription Chiefs Kingdom, to pay tribute to their winning decade and their 10 consecutive winning seasons. It has 54 diamonds on the perimeter of the detachable ring top to represent the combined 54 points the team earned in order to come from behind for the 54th and 57th Super Bowls. QB Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce helped design the rings.
In the video, Karlaftis and McDuffie walk into a museum surrounded with Chiefs photos and memorabilia. The clip also included archival photos, video and audio which highlight the franchise's history from its founder Lamar Hunt, former head coach Stram, quarterback Len Dawson to the current era with Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes.
The Chiefs' Ring Ceremony will be shared across the teams social media sites, including the grand Ring Unveiling. Meanwhile, the team is gearing up for what may be a record-breaking three-peat for 2024. If so, they would be the first in league history to achieve a back-to-back-to-back Super Bowl victory.
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