Each year, one team in the NFL takes home the Lombardi Trophy after winning the Super Bowl. What is the history of the iconic trophy?
Lombardi Trophy History
The Vince Lombardi Trophy has been the highest accolade in the pro football world for the past 57 years since the Super Bowl began in 1967.
The trophy is named in honor of NFL coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowl games.
Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in American football history, and he is recognized as one of the greatest coaches and leaders in the history of all American sports.
During lunch with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1966, Tiffany & Co. vice president Oscar Riedner sketched on a cocktail napkin what would become the Vince Lombardi Trophy, a football in a kicking position on a three-concave-sided stand.
Since Super Bowl 45, the Vince Lombardi Trophy has been prominently featured in the Super Bowl logo design.
The first trophy, inscribed with the words “World Professional Football Championship,” was awarded to the Green Bay Packers on January 15, 1967, after they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 1.
Following Lombardi’s death in September 1970, the trophy was officially renamed in his memory. It was presented for the first time as the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Baltimore Colts after their victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl 5.
The original trophy was produced by Tiffany & Co. in Newark, N.J. As of 2017, the trophy is produced at the Tiffany & Co. Forest Hill manufacturing facility in Cumberland, R.I.
The Lombardi Trophy is 20.75 inches in height, just a hair under two feet, and weighs 107.3 ounces, which comes out to about seven pounds.
The trophy costs a total of $50,000 to make. The entire process takes four months and 72 hours to construct.
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Each player is given a mini-replica of the trophy at an approximate expense of $1,500 apiece.
The Lombardi Trophy is more of a team-based honor, and when it comes to individual championship laurels, players look most forward to their Super Bowl rings.
Currently, there are two teams tied for having the most Lombardi trophies, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots each having done so six times. The San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys both have won five Super Bowl trophies. Most recently, the Vince Lombardi Trophy was awarded to the Chiefs in 2023.
Teams that have not yet won a Super Bowl include the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans.
This Sunday, the 49ers or the Chiefs will be the next to hoist the Lombardi Trophy as they compete in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.
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