Why is the NFL’s Championship prize for Super Bowl called the Vince Lombardi Trophy?

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Anjum Ash. | Last updated 2/8/24

Either the San Francisco 49ers or the Kansas City Chiefs will be crowned as the Super Bowl champions on the 11th of February at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs got the better of Lamar Jackson‘s Baltimore Ravens whereas the San Francisco 49ers routed Jared Goff‘s Detroit Lions to face off against each other in the ultimate competition.

The winners of the Super Bowl are awarded with the Vince Lombardi Trophy since the year of its inception in 1967. While the winning franchise gets their hands on the prized trophy, each player of the victorious side will get their smaller-sized replica as well. But exactly why is the Super Bowl Championship award called the Vince Lombardi Trophy?

Why is it called the Vince Lombardi Trophy?

The Super Bowl Championship trophy has been named after former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, who died of cancer in 1970. He led the Packers to the first two Super Bowl wins in succession and in a bid to honor his legacy, the NFL decided to name it as the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Prior to 1970, when the Lombardi trophy got its name, the award was called World Professional Football Championship Trophy.

After the winning team is awarded the Vince Lombardi trophy, it is then sent to Tiffany’s, where it is cleaned and engraved with the name of the recent winning team, the date of the game, and the final score of the Super Bowl.

The Vince Lombardi trophy was designed by the former VP of American luxury jewelry brand Tiffany and Co

The trophy was originally decided on a napkin in 1966 by Oscar Reidner, the then vice president of design at Tiffany & Co for the 1967 Super Bowl.

The beautiful trophy which is in the shape of a football in a kicking position on a three-concave-sided stand, weighs around 7 pounds and is 22 inches tall.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have six Lombardi trophies, and so do the New England Patriots in their locker, whereas both the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys have won five Super Bowl trophies each.

Now Brock Purdy will be looking to take the 49ers Lombardi Trophy count to six, while Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will be setting their eyes on back-to-back Super Bowl glories to make it four Lombardi Trophies in their franchise cabinet.