Everything to Know About the Lombardi Trophy

The Super Bowl is almost here, which means the NFL will crown a new champions shortly. For those who don’t know, the team that wins the Super Bowl is awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy. What follows is a brief history and description of the trophy.

The first NFL championship trophy was awarded on January 15, 1967 when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I. It had the words “World Professional Football Championship” inscribed on it and was just referred to as a championship trophy. After legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi died in September of 1970, the trophy was renamed in his honor.

It has always looked the same, though. In 1966, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle met with Oscar Riedner, vice president of Tiffany & Co. Riedner sketched a design on a cocktail napkin that would eventually become the design for the trophy.

The trophy features a football in the kicking position — as if it’s resting on an invisible tee –on top of a long stand with three concave sides. The sterling silver trophy is 22 inches tall and weighs approximately seven pounds. The design has been the same for every Super Bowl. Every year Tiffany & Co. handcrafts a new one to award the winning team.

For the first 29 Super Bowls, the trophy was awarded to the winning team in its locker room after the game, but since Super Bowl XXX in 1996, it has been presented on the field after the game. And since Super Bowl XL that ceremony features a former NFL player, usually a past Super Bowl MVP or a notable figure of the host city’s franchise.