A behind-the-scenes look at how the Super Bowl Lombardi Trophy is made

One of the biggest televised events in the US, over 90 million viewers tuned in to watch Super Bowl 56 last year. Between the game and the highly anticipated halftime show, fans across the country block off that second Sunday in February to watch as the final teams vie to take the Vince Lombardi Trophy home. 

The design of the Super Bowl has remained unchanged over the past 57 years since its inception of the Super Bowl. NFL commissioner at the time, Pete Rozelle, enlisted the help of American jewellery Tiffany & Co to create a trophy. Tiffany’s then-vice president Oscar Riedner was said to have sketched the design on a napkin during a lunch with the commissioner. 

It wasn’t until three years after it was first introduced that the trophy was renamed Vince Lombardi, the late Green Bay Packers coach who led the team to the first two Super Bowl wins.

The handmade trophy stands 22 inches tall and weighs seven pounds. The trophy depicts a propped-up, regulation-sized football in a kicking position. Tiffany creates a new trophy for each edition of the Super Bowl; unlike trophies like the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy or the NHL’s Stanley Cup, the winning team gets to keep their sterling silver trophy. 

Smaller replicas of the trophy are made for each player as well. Artisans handcraft the trophies at Tiffany & Co’s Rhode Island workshop, where they return after the game for engraving. 

To mark Super Bowl 57, Tiffany is launching a commemorative jersey with Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co. The black design features Tiffany’s logo plus the number 57 in the jeweller’s signature shade of robin’s egg blue.

Also see: Apple Music releases Rihanna teaser, Halftime greatest hits and NFL playlist ahead of Super Bowl 57