History of the Super Bowl 'Lombardi' Trophy

The Lombardi Trophy has a fascinating history you might not know about. Tiffany & Co. crafted the first version in 1967 after NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle commissioned it for the AFL-NFL Championship Game. It wasn't always called the Lombardi Trophy — it was renamed in 1970 to honor legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi after his death. It stands 22 inches tall, weighs 7 pounds, and costs $50,000 to produce. There's plenty more to discover about this iconic symbol of football greatness.

Key Takeaways

• NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle commissioned Tiffany & Co. to create the trophy for the first AFL-NFL Championship Game in 1967.
• Designer Oscar Riedener sketched the trophy's iconic football-on-a-stand design on a cocktail napkin in 1966.
• The trophy was renamed after legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi following his death in 1970.
• Each sterling silver trophy costs $50,000 to produce, takes four months to craft, and stands 22 inches tall.
• Winning teams permanently keep their Lombardi Trophy, while individual player replicas are available for $1,500 each.

The Super Bowl Trophy's Origin Story

When NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle set out to create a trophy for the first AFL-NFL Championship Game in January 1967, he didn't want just another plaque. He envisioned something that matched the league's prestige, so he contacted Tiffany & Co. and arranged a meeting with design vice president Oscar Riedner.

Riedner, a Swiss native unfamiliar with American football, bought a regulation football from FAO Schwarz, studied it over breakfast, and prototyped a three-sided tapered stand from a cut cornflakes box. He later sketched the final design on a cocktail napkin during lunch with Rozelle.

The trophy's initial name was "World Professional Football Championship," and the trophy's early presentation took place in the winning team's locker room, a tradition that continued until Super Bowl XXX in 1996. The finished trophy stands 21 inches tall and weighs 7 pounds, crafted entirely from sterling silver by Tiffany & Co. The trophy is handcrafted by Tiffany artisans over a four-month process, during which master silversmiths heat sheets of sterling silver to shape the football and carefully hammer the delicate lace designs using a chasing technique.

Why the Trophy Was Renamed After Vince Lombardi

From its origins as a cornflakes-box prototype, the trophy took on a far deeper meaning once Vince Lombardi died on September 3, 1970, from colon cancer at just 57 years old. The NFL wasted no time, officially renaming the trophy in his memory that same year.

The renamed trophy debuted at Super Bowl V, awarded to the Baltimore Colts on January 17, 1971, marking the first presentation of what you now know as the Lombardi Trophy.

You can trace the decision directly to Lombardi's coaching legacy and the Packers' early dominance, which defined professional football's premier event from the start. He coached Green Bay to five NFL championships and led them to victories in both Super Bowl I and II before stepping down as head coach. After leaving Green Bay, Lombardi served as head coach and executive vice president of the Washington Commanders in 1969, his only season leading another NFL franchise.

The trophy itself is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, made of sterling silver and requiring a meticulous four-month process of forging, soldering, and polishing at Tiffany's Rhode Island workshop before it ever reaches a champion's hands.

Who Designed the Lombardi Trophy?

Behind the Lombardi Trophy's iconic design is a single sketch drawn on a cocktail napkin in 1966. Oscar Riedener, then Vice President at Tiffany & Co., drew it during a lunch meeting with NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. That casual moment holds enormous design significance — a napkin sketch became the blueprint for one of sports' most recognized trophies.

Riedener's design inspiration centered on simplicity and function: a regulation-size football positioned in a kicking stance atop a three-legged stand with concave sides. Tiffany & Co. then translated that sketch into a sterling silver trophy, first awarded to the Green Bay Packers in January 1967. What's remarkable is that you're fundamentally looking at the same core design today that Riedener originally scribbled over lunch nearly six decades ago. Tiffany & Co. has been designing trophies for more than 150 years, making them a natural fit for the NFL's most prestigious award.

Each Lombardi Trophy is stamped with "T & CO MAKERS," a T-shaped planishing hammer, and a unique pattern number, marking it as an authentic work of Tiffany craftsmanship. In fact, Tiffany's skilled craftspeople use traditional techniques to create over 65 varieties of trophies annually, spanning major sports leagues and events across the country.

How the Lombardi Trophy Is Made Each Year

That napkin sketch from Oscar Riedener didn't just inspire a design — it set the standard for a trophy that Tiffany & Co. now handcrafts every year at their Hollowware Shop in Parsippany, New Jersey. The craftsmanship details behind each trophy reveal a multi-step fabrication process spanning four months.

You'd start with flat sterling silver sheets, each approximately 11 inches by 0.057 inches thick. Craftsmen spin these sheets on a lathe, shaping two identical halves before soldering them seamlessly together. Workers then use hammers and chisels to chase the seams, while small silver pieces form the laces.

Three rolled silver sheets build the base, a shield attaches, and engravers carve the final inscriptions. The finished trophy stands 22 inches tall and weighs nearly 7 pounds. The trophy depicts a regulation-size football in a kicking position, mounted on a distinctive stand with three concave sides.

What the Lombardi Trophy Is Worth and Why

Few trophies spark as much debate about worth as the Lombardi Trophy, where production cost, material value, and symbolic prestige each tell a different story. You'll find material costs vs craftsmanship create a striking gap—sterling silver carries an $8,000–$10,000 melt value, yet production runs $50,000 due to labor-intensive work at Tiffany & Co.'s Rhode Island facility. That craftsmanship commands a price no raw metal can justify alone.

The permanent vs. replicable trophy distinction matters too. Winning teams keep their trophy permanently, while individual player replicas sell for $1,500 each. Estimated market value reaches $50,000, though no auction records confirm it. Ultimately, you can't assign a clean number to a trophy whose historical significance and Lombardi legacy push its symbolic worth far beyond any appraisal. The trophy takes four full months to create in the workshop, a timeline that alone speaks to the extraordinary dedication behind every single piece.

Tiffany & Co.'s legacy in sports extends well beyond football, as the luxury jeweller also crafted the first world championship baseball trophy in 1888, underscoring a tradition of prestige that has defined major American sports hardware for well over a century.