The Vince Lombardi Trophy, which recognises the champion of the NFL, is one of the most coveted cups in world sport and this has nothing to do with its material value but with the institutional work that it takes to obtain it
To have a championship season, it’s not just about winning a lot of games: management has to do a great human job to have the best players available without exceeding the salary cap, then all these players have to develop their best individual and collective level based on discipline and repetitions, then be fortunate that their players do not suffer serious injuries and finally, that the team arrives at its best moment to the playoffs to win the key games.
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But what about the Lombardi Trophy, once there is a new NFL champion?
The Lombardi Trophy has been awarded to the NFL champion since the start of the Super Bowl era in the 1966 season. That year, then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle ordered a new trophy to be created for the winner of the first championship game between the winners of the old NFL and AFL. He then met with Tiffany and Co. vice president Oscar Riedner, who made the first sketch of the trophy we know today on a cocktail napkin.
Since then, the design is similar to the one we know today: made entirely of sterling silver with a football placed on a three-sided base. The Lombardi Trophy is 22 inches tall and weighs approximately seven pounds.
For that edition, Rozelle had the words “World Professional Football Championship” engraved on the trophy. The winners were the Green Bay Packers, who defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on January 15, 1967
After Lombardi’s death in 1970, the trophy was named after legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi, who dominated the old NFL in the 1960s and won the first two Super Bowls.
Who keeps the Vince Lombardi Trophy once the NFL hands it over?
Unlike other leagues, the NFL has a trophy made for each winning team, which is displayed in their showcases. Currently, the two most successful teams of all time are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, who have won it six times, followed by the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, who have five.
In addition, the league awards smaller replicas of the trophy to each member of the winning team.
While the main trophy is presented by the league commissioner, in this case Roger Goodell, to the winning team’s owner, who is accompanied by the quarterback and head coach, this is also a tradition unlike that which occurs in other leagues, where the trophy is normally received by the team captain, accompanied by his coaching staff
However, in most major US leagues, the true winner of the trophy is considered to be the owner of the championship team.
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