How Much Is A Super Bowl Ring Worth? The Winning Team Will Be Going Home With Some Seriously Fancy Jewelry

The Super Bowl is almost here, and the glory isn't the only thing the winners of the big game have to look forward to. Winning teams are also presented with some absolutely insane rings loaded with gold and diamonds (you might recall the photo of Ben Affleck's nanny, Christine Ouzounian, posing with Tom Brady's ring last summer). So just how much is a Super Bowl worth? In some cases, one could easily cover the cost of a new car, or a down payment on a house.

According to CNBC, rings are presented not just to the 53 players of the winning team, but also to team owners and support staff. The NFL provides up to $5,000 each for up to 150 rings per winning team. Anything over those amounts must be covered by team owners. One would think that a few grand would be plenty, but apparently, that isn't the case. In fact, ESPN reported that last year, in honor of Super Bowl XLIX, team owner Robert Kraft shelled out $5.475 million for the Patriots' 150 rings. Each ring contained 205 diamonds totaling 4.85 carats, and cost $36,500 apiece. They are the largest Super Bowl Rings ever created. Not a bad reward just for doing your job.

Not everyone receives the same ring, though; support staff often receive a cheaper version of their team's Super Bowl ring featuring Cubic Zirconias instead of diamonds, and the rings may be made from non-precious metals. However, when you factor in the value of sports memorabilia, they can still end up being worth far more than their original cost. If a signed football can be worth thousands of dollars, how much value does a knockoff ring hold once it's been in the same room as a World Champion? Plenty. Championship-Rings.net has an impressive array of Super Bowl rings for sale, and even a New England Patriots Super Bowl XXXIX "non gold" ring encrusted with CZs is listed at $9,995. A New York Giants Super Bowl XLII ring designed by Tiffany & Company, featuring 14K white gold and actual diamonds, meanwhile, is listed at $49,995. That's a pretty sizeable chunk of change, even for someone who's already making millions of dollars a year.

So now you know where you're money's going next time you pay $100 for an officially licensed jersey or $9 for a plastic cup of beer at the stadium. Meanwhile, not that anybody asked me, cheerleaders have to file lawsuits against the NFL in order to be paid minimum wage. Just something to think about.