Six times. That is the number people obsess over. If you are a basketball fan, you know the drill: two three-peats, a brief retirement to play baseball, and a level of dominance that essentially locked an entire generation of Hall of Famers out of winning a title. But when we talk about a michael jordan championship ring, we aren't just talking about a piece of jewelry. We are talking about literal artifacts of a culture that prioritized winning over everything else—sometimes even over friendships or physical health.
Honestly, the rings themselves are kind of heavy. Not just in weight, though they are loaded with diamonds and gold, but in what they represent for the 1990s Chicago Bulls. Each one was designed to tell a specific story. They weren't just mass-produced trophies; they were custom-made milestones that got progressively more "extra" as the decade went on. You see the first one from 1991 and it looks almost humble compared to the massive, diamond-encrusted monstrosity from 1998.
The First Taste: 1991 and the End of the "Jordan Rules"
The 1991 michael jordan championship ring is arguably the most significant. Think back to where Jordan was mentally. He had spent years getting physically battered by the Detroit Pistons. People said he was just a scorer, a "ball hog" who couldn't elevate a team. When they finally swept the Pistons and beat Magic Johnson's Lakers, the ring design reflected that breakthrough. It features a large, single marquise-cut diamond representing the first world title, surrounded by smaller diamonds. It's elegant. It's clean. It lacks the arrogance of the later designs because, at that point, the Bulls were just happy to finally be there.
The 1992 and 1993 rings followed a similar trajectory but started getting bulkier. The 1993 "Three-Peat" ring is particularly cool because it features the iconic Bulls logo front and center, made of red stones. It was a statement. By then, Jordan wasn't just a basketball player; he was a global conglomerate. This was the era of Space Jam talks and the Dream Team. The rings were becoming symbols of a brand as much as a team.
The Return and the 72-10 Masterpiece
After the 18-month hiatus and the "I'm back" fax, the 1996 ring had to be different. This is the one most collectors lose their minds over. Why? Because the 1995-96 Bulls went 72-10 in the regular season. For a long time, that was the gold standard of perfection. The ring Jostens designed for this season is incredible. It features four trophies (representing the fourth title) and is arguably the most recognizable of the bunch.
👉 See also: Ohio State Football All White Uniforms: Why the Icy Look Always Sparks a Debate
Jordan’s 1996 ring isn't just a piece of sports memorabilia. It is a rebuttal. It was his way of saying that the game hadn't passed him by while he was riding buses in the minor leagues. If you look closely at the side of these rings, you'll see the player's name and the team's record. Seeing "72-10" engraved in gold is the ultimate flex. It basically tells the rest of the NBA, "We were better than everyone, every single night, for six months straight."
The "Last Dance" and the Sixth Ring
The 1998 ring is the heaviest. Literally. By the time the Bulls beat the Jazz in 1998, the relationship between the players, Phil Jackson, and the front office was basically non-existent. Jerry Krause had already made it clear this was the end. So, when they designed the sixth michael jordan championship ring, they went all out.
It has five trophies on one side and a sixth on the other. It’s a massive chunk of jewelry that looks like it would be uncomfortable to wear for more than five minutes. But Jordan didn't wear them to be comfortable. He wore them—or displayed them—to remind everyone of the gap between him and the rest of the league.
What These Rings Are Actually Worth
Let’s talk money, because that’s what everyone asks about. You can’t just walk into a store and buy an authentic michael jordan championship ring. They are almost never for sale. When a player or staff member's ring from those eras hits the auction block, we are talking six figures, easily. In 2020, a set of rings belonging to a former Bulls security guard went up for auction and fetched a staggering amount of money.
✨ Don't miss: Who Won the Golf Tournament This Weekend: Richard T. Lee and the 2026 Season Kickoff
But for Jordan’s actual personal rings? Those are essentially priceless. If his 1998 ring ever hit the open market, it would likely set a record for the most expensive piece of sports jewelry ever sold, potentially rivaling or exceeding the millions paid for high-end jerseys or rookie cards.
The market for "Bulls-related" rings is also wild. Even "salesman samples"—rings made to show the team what the final product will look like but not given to players—sell for $5,000 to $15,000. People want a piece of that 90s magic. They want to feel connected to that specific window of time when Chicago was the center of the sporting universe.
The Craftsmanship Behind the Ice
Jostens is the company primarily responsible for these masterpieces. The process is actually pretty intense. It starts with sketches, then wax models, and finally the casting in 10k or 14k gold. Each stone is hand-set. For the 1997 and 1998 rings, the level of detail is microscopic. You have the "World Champions" text curving around the face, and often the scores of the playoff series are hidden in the engraving on the inner band.
- 1991: 10-karat gold, 30 diamonds.
- 1996: Celebrates the 72-10 record with four trophies.
- 1998: The "Last Dance" ring, featuring the most diamond weight of the six.
It is interesting to note that while Jordan has six, Scottie Pippen also has six. But there's a reason we call it a "Michael Jordan ring." He was the engine. The rings are a physical manifestation of his "win at all costs" mentality.
🔗 Read more: The Truth About the Memphis Grizzlies Record 2025: Why the Standings Don't Tell the Whole Story
Common Misconceptions
One thing people get wrong is thinking Jordan wears these out to dinner. He doesn't. Most of the time, they are in secure storage or private displays. Another myth is that they are solid gold through and through. They are usually 10k or 14k gold because 24k gold is actually too soft to hold that many diamonds securely. If you made a championship ring out of 24k gold, the prongs would bend and you'd be dropping diamonds all over the United Center floor.
Also, people often ask if the players have to pay for them. No. The team owner usually foots the bill, though there are league rules about the maximum value allowed before it starts hitting certain tax or cap implications. For a guy like Jerry Reinsdorf, the cost of the rings was a small price to pay for the billions in franchise value Jordan added to the Bulls.
Why the Obsession Continues
Why do we still care about a michael jordan championship ring thirty years later? It’s because the NBA has changed. We live in an era of player movement and "super teams" that often break up after a year or two. The Bulls rings represent a decade of stability and dominance that we probably won't see again.
When you look at those six rings together, you see the entire arc of a career. You see the struggle of the early 90s, the grief-stricken return in 1996 after his father's death, and the gritty, exhausted finale in 1998. They are more than just jewelry; they are a timeline of greatness.
Taking Action: How to See Them or Collect
If you are looking to get your hands on a piece of this history, you have a few realistic options that don't involve having a million dollars in the bank.
- Visit the Chicago Sports Museum: They often have displays featuring authentic championship memorabilia where you can see the scale of these rings in person.
- Look for Salesman Samples: If you are a serious collector, look for "Salesman Sample" rings at reputable auction houses like Heritage Auctions or Sotheby's. They are "real" in the sense that they were made by the same manufacturer at the same time, just not for a player.
- Authentication is Key: If you ever find yourself looking at a "real" Bulls ring on eBay, be extremely skeptical. Authentic rings come with heavy documentation and often a letter of authenticity from the original recipient.
- Study the Engraving: Authentic Jostens rings from the 90s have very specific hallmarks inside the band. Fake rings almost always get the font or the depth of the engraving wrong.
The legacy of Michael Jordan isn't just in the highlight reels or the sneakers. It's in the hardware. Those six rings remain the ultimate benchmark for every player who enters the league. Until someone else comes along and hoards that much gold in a single decade, the Michael Jordan championship ring will remain the most coveted object in basketball history.