Six of them.
Think about that for a second. Most NFL franchises would give anything for just one, yet the New England Patriots spent two decades making the jewelry business their secondary profession. When we talk about New England Patriots championship rings, we aren't just talking about gold and diamonds. We are talking about the physical evolution of a dynasty that started with a modest bit of sparkle in 2001 and ended with a massive, finger-straining boulder in 2018.
Honestly, the rings tell the story better than the highlight reels do. You can literally see the ego and the dominance grow with every iteration. The first one was almost humble. The last one? It’s basically a weapon.
The 2001 Ring: Where the Obsession Started
Nobody expected the 2001 team to be here. They were double-digit underdogs against the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams. When they won, Jostens—the company that has handled most of these—had to figure out what a "Patriots dynasty" look even felt like.
The 2001 ring is surprisingly tasteful compared to what came later. It features the "Flying Elvis" logo made of custom-cut garnets and sapphires. It’s got 42 diamonds. At the time, that felt like a lot. Now? It looks like a starter kit. Robert Kraft, the owner, wanted it to represent the "team" aspect, so the side panel famously features the phrase "United We Stand." This was a nod to the post-9/11 era and the fact that the team chose to be introduced as a collective unit rather than as individuals during Super Bowl XXXVI.
If you ever see one of these in person, you’ll notice it’s actually wearable. You could go to dinner in this thing and not look like you're trying too hard. By the time they got to the sixth one, that was no longer an option.
Breaking Down the "Back-to-Back" Ice
The 2003 and 2004 rings (Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX) are where things started to get heavy. By 2003, the Patriots weren't a fluke anymore. They were the "Evil Empire" in the making. The 2003 ring bumped the diamond count up significantly. It featured two Lombardi trophies to signify the two titles.
Then came 2004. This is a personal favorite for many collectors because it’s the only one that features three trophies on the face. It was the "dynasty" marker. If you look closely at the side of the 2004 ring, you see the scores of the playoff wins. It’s a very "Patriots" detail—obsessing over the work it took to get there, not just the result.
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What most people get wrong about the value
People assume these rings are just the sum of their parts. "Oh, it's gold and diamonds, it's worth $30k." Wrong. A player-issued New England Patriots championship ring from the Brady era is basically a historical artifact. While a staff ring might fetch $20,000 to $40,000 at auction, a ring belonging to a starter can easily clear six figures. If Tom Brady ever put one of his originals on the market? You’re looking at millions. It’s not about the carats; it’s about the sweat.
The 2014 Comeback and the XLIX Ring
There was a ten-year gap between the third and fourth rings. Ten years of "are they finished?" and "is the dynasty dead?" That’s why the Super Bowl XLIX ring—the one from the win over Seattle—is so aggressive.
It was a statement.
This ring was massive. It had 205 diamonds. It was the largest Super Bowl ring ever made at that point in time. Kraft and the organization were clearly venting a decade of frustration. The design shifted. It wasn't just a logo anymore; it was an explosion of white gold. One of the coolest details? The "V" for victory on the side is made of diamonds, and it’s meant to look like the corner of the stadium.
The 28-3 Ring: The Ultimate Petty Move
We have to talk about the Super Bowl LI ring. The "Atlanta" ring. This is the one that proves the Patriots have a sense of humor, or at least a very long memory.
You remember the score. 28-3. The Falcons were cruising, and then the greatest collapse (or comeback) in sports history happened. The Patriots decided to immortalize that failure in 10-karat white gold. There are exactly 283 diamonds in the Super Bowl LI ring.
That isn't a coincidence.
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The team has never officially "confirmed" it was a dig at the Falcons in the press releases, but come on. Everyone knows. This ring is the peak of the collection for many fans because it represents the pinnacle of the Brady-Belichick era. It’s also the first time they moved to five Lombardi trophies on the face. It’s crowded. It’s loud. It’s beautiful.
2018: The Sixth and Final (For Now)
The ring for Super Bowl LIII is a monster. It has an average weight of 9.8 pennyweights and contains over 400 diamonds. It also has 20 blue sapphires.
The most interesting thing about this ring isn't the front; it's the inside. The interior is engraved with "STILL HERE," the rallying cry the team used throughout the 2018 playoffs when the media started calling them "old" and "slow." It also features a quote from Robert Kraft: "We are all Patriots."
How These Things Are Actually Made
Jostens doesn't just pull these off a shelf. The process takes months. Once the game ends in February, the "Ring Committee"—which usually includes Kraft, sometimes the head coach, and a few veteran players—meets to discuss the design.
They want to tell a story.
They want symbols.
They want numbers that mean something.
For example, the number of diamonds often corresponds to the number of division titles, or the number of years the owner has had the team, or the number of consecutive winning seasons. It's like a secret code for the players. When you're wearing one, you're wearing the season's stats on your knuckle.
The physical construction involves:
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- 3D Printing: Modern rings start as digital files and are 3D printed in wax.
- Lost-Wax Casting: The gold is poured into a mold created by that wax.
- Hand Setting: Every single one of those 400+ diamonds is set by hand. That's why they take so long to ship. Players usually don't get them until a private ceremony in June.
The Vladimir Putin Incident
You can't write about New England Patriots championship rings without mentioning the time Vladimir Putin "stole" one. It sounds like an urban legend, but it’s real.
In 2005, Robert Kraft was visiting Russia with a group of American business leaders. He showed Putin his 2004 Super Bowl ring. Putin tried it on, reportedly said, "I could kill someone with this ring," put it in his pocket, and walked out.
Kraft initially claimed it was a gift, but years later, he admitted he actually wanted it back. The White House supposedly stepped in and told him it would be better for international relations if he just pretended it was a present. So, technically, there is an authentic Patriots championship ring sitting in the Kremlin library.
Spotting a Fake: Don't Get Scammed
If you’re looking to buy a piece of history, be careful. The market is flooded with "replicas" from overseas that look decent in photos but feel like plastic in your hand.
- Weight is the giveaway. A real championship ring is heavy. It’s uncomfortable. If it feels like a normal class ring, it’s fake.
- The "Grains." High-end rings use "beaded" settings for the diamonds. Replicas usually have cheap prongs or just glue the stones in.
- Internal Engraving. Real ones have deep, crisp laser or hand engraving. Fakes often have shallow, blurry text.
- The Stones. Real ones use diamonds and sapphires. Replicas use cubic zirconia and glass. If you put a diamond tester to a $50 eBay ring, it’s going to stay silent.
What To Do Next if You're a Collector
If you're serious about owning one, you have two real paths.
First, you can look for "Salesman Samples." These are made by Jostens to show the team what the final product will look like. They are made of non-precious metals and synthetic stones, but they come from the original molds. They usually sell for $1,000 to $5,000 and look identical to the real thing on a shelf.
Second, keep an eye on major auction houses like Heritage Auctions or Hunt Auctions. This is where former players or staff members who might be facing a "liquidity event" (that’s fancy talk for needing cash) sell their authentic rings.
Just remember: you’re buying a piece of a dynasty. Whether it’s the 2001 garnet "Elvis" or the 2018 diamond-encrusted beast, these rings represent a specific era of excellence that we probably won't see again for a long time.
If you're just starting your collection, try to find a 2003 or 2004 staff ring. They are often the most "affordable" entry points into the authentic market before the prices go completely nuts for the later years. Avoid the "too good to be true" listings on social media marketplaces; if it’s an authentic Patriots ring for $500, it’s a paperweight, not a trophy.