Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Laekin Vakalahi did not play a single snap in a meaningful game during the season that ended with the Eagles winning Super Bowl LIX, but he did receive a ring for being a member of the practice squad. He also became the first person to put one of them up for auction, and he ended up making more than half of what he earned during his first and only season with the team.
It’s been close to a decade since the NFL launched the International Player Pathway in the hopes of identifying and fostering talent sourced from countries outside of the United States.
Dozens of players have leveraged the IPP en route to making an NFL roster, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more notable success story than Jordan Mailata, the former rugby league player from Australia who is currently in his sixth season as a starting offensive tackle for the Eagles.
The franchise was hoping to replicate that success when it went a similar route in 2024 by signing Laekin Vakalahi, a New Zealand native who was raised in Australia and also held his own in rugby league before Philadelphia gave him the chance to show what he could do on the football field.
He did not end up having a huge impact during a season where the Eagles won the Super Bowl, but he’ll be walking away with a solid payday after parting ways with the piece of bling he decided to offload.
Laekin Vakalahi sold the Super Bowl rings he got for being a member of the Eagles practice squad for close to $125,000
Vakalahi was 21 years old when he signed a three-year development contract with the Eagles in the spring of 2024. The 6’5″, 320 lb. left tackle played a grand total of eight snaps in the preseason, and he was ultimately waived before being signed to the practice squad.
He ended up getting paid $225,000, and while he didn’t appear in a single game, he still received a Super Bowl ring after the Eagles conquered the Chiefs in The Big Game.
Those rings are made of white gold and feature close to 200 diamonds that weigh in at 12 carats along with a button that releases a pair of wings that unveil a hidden message.
A ring fit for Champions@JasonofBH | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/MTVkURY6rb
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 19, 2025
It’s unclear how much each one set the organization back, but we got our first look at what the market thinks they’re worth after Vakalahi (who was released before the current season got underway) became the first person to put the ring up for auction in a sale where it ultimately went for $124,440—or around 55% of what he earned last season.
Not too shabby.