Four months after the Philadelphia Eagles’ narrow defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, offensive lineman Cam Jurgens stumbled across a team schedule that reminded him of an uncelebrated event: the Ring Ceremony. It was June 2023, and the sting of the 38-35 loss remained fresh. Jurgens questioned the purpose of the occasion, muttering,
“What the hell is the ring ceremony for?”
Cam Jurgens, Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman.
The ceremony was meant to be uplifting. The Eagles convened for a viewing of a highlight reel showcasing their 13-1 season start and a remarkable 70 sacks. Afterward, players were directed to a cafeteria table piled high with personalized conference championship rings—tokens awarded to the Super Bowl runner-up. Jurgens accepted his ring but tucked it away on a closet shelf, wrestling with the bittersweet symbolism.
“Honestly, I wasn’t so thrilled about getting a ring that felt like a participation trophy that I had to pay taxes on,”
Cam Jurgens said.
“Like, it’s second place. You know, you made it to the Super Bowl; you participated. So here’s a beautiful, nice-sized ring as a token, or a reminder of you losing the Super Bowl… It’s not necessarily just a participation trophy, but it’s a reminder that, hey, you made it all the way to the mountaintop and failed.”
The NFL game operations manual stipulates that the team losing the Super Bowl receives rewards recognizing their conference championship victory. Traditionally, this takes the form of a ring. However, unlike the championship rings, awareness and value attached to these secondary awards rarely circulate publicly. In interviews with numerous players and coaches ahead of the latest Super Bowl, few were even aware they would receive these tokens upon finishing second.
How Other Sports Recognize Second Place
Sports outside the NFL provide a contrast in how runner-up honors are handled. The Olympics celebrate silver medalists, Wimbledon awards a silver platter to the men’s singles runner-up, and Major League Baseball presents rings to the pennant winner that falls short in the World Series. Yet, notably, some prestigious competitions like the Masters golf tournament do not commemorate the runner-up with a distinctive prize.
For Jurgens, the mere presence of his NFC championship ring faded into insignificance after his team’s Super Bowl LIX triumph over the Chiefs. That victory filled the ring with more genuine pride, a feeling he openly embraces when he shares that he regularly wore the championship ring despite its bulk. The runner-up ring remains untouched by comparison.
“I’m a lot more proud of that,”
he stated.
“Yeah, I’ve worn that [ring]. I feel like it weighs my whole arm down, but I’ve worn it.”
The Championship Ring Industry and Its Challenges
Behind the scenes, the creation of championship rings—both for winners and runners-up—is a competitive and meticulous business. Jason Arasheben, CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, has crafted rings for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and WNBA. Following last year’s Eagles Super Bowl triumph, Arasheben designed an extravagant 140-gram ring featuring diamonds, white gold, a sapphire, and a hidden mechanism that reveals two eagle wings, each costing about $40,000 to produce.
Engaging with the losing team on runner-up rings, however, demands a delicately measured approach. Arasheben describes the shift in mood as palpable, saying it’s inappropriate to reach out immediately after the loss because players are grieving.
“It’s a completely different mood,”
Jason Arasheben said.
“You don’t want to reach out to them the very next day because the last thing they want to hear is like, ‘Congratulations, you lost your game.’ Now here’s your second-place ring they don’t want because obviously they’re upset. So you have to tread softly with something like that.”
He added,
“Typically we take a little longer before we reach out. Let the loss settle in and let them have an opportunity to reflect on the season and reflect on some of the good things that happened. The fact that they did make it far in the playoffs, the fact that they did win their conference and make it to the championship game. And then at that point when everything’s kind of calmed down — we’ll slowly and gently approach them and say, ‘Hey, you know, congratulations on winning the NFC or AFC championship.’”
Different teams vary in their involvement with tournament ring design. MLB owners often embrace the process, recognizing the potentially long wait until their next opportunity at a World Series title and wanting to celebrate the season’s journey with a memorable piece. Others display minimal enthusiasm, particularly teams with multiple championships to their name, who may perceive the runner-up ring as merely a consolation prize on the way to their ultimate goal.
This quiet reluctance was evident with the 2024 San Francisco 49ers, a storied franchise with five Super Bowl wins, who tasked Jason of Beverly Hills to create their runner-up rings without much fervor after an overtime loss to the Chiefs. Arasheben observed,
“One thing I’ve noticed is that when you’re dealing with teams that have a history of championships, they’re even less inclined to do this ring than the teams that have never won before.”
“So for them, they were like, ‘Ugh, we’re going to do it for the players. We want to give them something special. But what we really want to be designing here is a championship ring.’”
Arasheben sympathizes with this mindset but underlines the significance of the runner-up ring in maintaining relationships and honoring successes.
“Is the goal, the No. 1 prize, to get the championship ring? Of course it is,”
he explained.
“Even though in the moment I might not be as happy as I would be if I was getting the Super Bowl ring, I feel like it’s equally as important because it’s just another relationship.”
The 49ers’ NFC championship ring is valued at approximately $10,000 retail and features 1.70 carats of white diamonds set on white gold. It is presented in a lit display box with a rotating platform designed to evoke the prestige of a Super Bowl victory.
Historical Perspective: Buffalo Bills’ Experience with Runner-Up Rings
The tradition of honoring Super Bowl runners-up with rings dates back decades. In 1991, Buffalo Bills general manager Bill Polian organized a celebratory event at a country club in Orchard Park, New York, where players donned their best attire and feasted before receiving their AFC championship rings following a heartbreaking 20-19 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
Receiver Don Beebe recalled the initial skepticism and emotional difficulty surrounding the rings.
“You know the way you get a ring, you’ve got to win it,”
Beebe remarked, acknowledging that first-place glory is the ultimate prize.
Nevertheless, the Bills came to embrace these mementos, marking their rare achievement as the only NFL team to reach four consecutive Super Bowls. Beebe highlighted the importance of identity and purpose championed by coach Marv Levy, who defined winning beyond just the final score.
Receiver Steve Tasker described the rings as simultaneously “cool” and “disappointing,” underscoring the complex emotions experienced by the team as they struggled through grueling seasons riddled by illness, injury, and pressure to redeem past failures. After subsequent Super Bowl defeats to Washington and Dallas, the rings, especially those worn by players participating in all four games, became symbols of perseverance and brotherhood.
The tight bond among teammates has lasted decades, with trips together and frequent communication. Beebe shared that quarterback Jim Kelly recently sent photos during a hunting trip, reflecting the enduring camaraderie forged through shared losses.
“I think losing brings guys close together,”
Beebe said.
“Everybody wants to win it. However, everybody would love to have been on that team. What we did and accomplished as that group gave us tremendous memories and things that have impacted the rest of our lives.”
Beebe eventually earned a Super Bowl ring in January 1997 with the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl XXXI. He later received another runner-up ring when the Packers lost in the subsequent Super Bowl. Due to a severe injury to his right ring finger caused by a high-velocity Brett Favre throw, Beebe cannot wear any rings but keeps all six stored safely, only displaying them during speaking engagements or school visits.
The Mixed Sentiments Surrounding Runner-Up Rings Today
The week leading up to the Super Bowl is typically a tense, hopeful time, and players rarely focus on runner-up accolades. New England Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai summed it up bluntly, stating his team only aims for a Super Bowl ring and that he would likely gift a conference championship ring to a parent if given one.
Seattle Seahawks safety Ty Okada shared a similarly indifferent view, commenting,
“I couldn’t care less about getting the runner-up ring,”
and further stating,
“It’s interesting that they do it. That’s about all I have to say about that.”
After Seattle’s victory in Super Bowl LX, Okada had little reason to dwell on the consolation prize.
Okada amassed various state wrestling medals and other personal awards, now stashed at his parents’ home in Minnesota. Fellow Seahawks safety Coby Bryant, however, regarded the conference championship ring as more meaningful. Bryant won two conference championship rings while playing for Cincinnati in college and valued them as important milestones in his journey.
“Super Bowl ring, I’m keeping it forever,”
Bryant said.
“That’s something I’ll always have. Especially for my kids, when I do have kids. I would keep [the NFC championship ring] too. But my mind is on having the biggest ring.”
Recipients of recent playoff runner-up rings have echoed this blended sense of respect for these tokens, albeit with an eye toward the ultimate championship ring.
Days before the 2024 Super Bowl faced off between the 49ers and Chiefs, 49ers captain Fred Warner downplayed his 2019 NFC championship ring, laughing off a reporter’s question by admitting,
“I don’t know where that ring is. But I remember we got one. I was like, ‘Oh, this is cute.’”
Warner remains focused on capturing the elusive Super Bowl ring that would define his career.
Market Value and Legacy of Conference Championship Rings
Conference championship rings occasionally appear in auctions, where their value varies widely. Patrick Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl winner, expressed appreciation for his runner-up rings while noting they serve as motivation for future success. He described the rings as keepsakes that remind him of team efforts but drew a distinction between how prominently he displays runner-up versus championship rings.
“But it’s a reminder for you to go out there and be better. I put it this way — I put those in my safe and I put the other ones on top of my safe. I keep those, but some of them I showcase a little more.”
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.
Conversely, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was dismissive, stating,
“I’m only interested in Super Bowl rings.”
Kelce’s 2020 AFC championship ring notably fetched $34,404 at auction, illustrating significant market demand for some runner-up memorabilia.
John Riggins’ 1983 NFC championship ring sold for $22,325 during the Super Bowl LX Live Auction in San Francisco, with proceeds benefiting NFL-related charities. David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, explained that the value of championship rings is complex and varies based on factors such as player prominence and ring history, without a straightforward formula to determine worth.
“You can have a really significant player where it’s their conference championship ring and it brings the same as the world championship ring would bring for a front office person,”
Hunt explained.
“There is not a cut-and-dried formula for value.”
The NFL’s Official Guidelines and Players’ Views on Runner-Up Awards
The NFL manual details that the runner-up award must be a piece of jewelry or a similar item costing no more than half the established price of the Super Bowl winner’s ring. The league contributes between $5,000 and $7,000 per ring for up to 150 rings to the champion team, which does not receive separate conference championship rings. Instead, these rings are reserved for players who do not join the victory parade, recognizing their conference winning but not the ultimate title.
Leading into Super Bowl LX, Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford, a former national champion with LSU, wasn’t preoccupied with an NFC championship ring. His focus was on achieving the season’s ultimate victory. Still, Bradford acknowledged the significance of receiving a tangible symbol for the rigorous effort it takes to reach the championship game.
“That’s pretty cool,”
Bradford said.
“This is the end of the row right here. It’s very hard to get here. Top of the top, best of the best.”
