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Being a professional athlete comes with plenty of perks (primarily the millions of dollars you typically get paid), but virtually every single person in that line of work would tell you they’d trade everything else away to hoist a championship trophy. Many of those people would describe that experience as “invaluable,” but some of those pieces of hardware are very valuable based on how much they’re worth.
There’s a good chance you’re aware the competitors who topped the competition at the Olympic Games in ancient Greece were presented with a laurel made from olive branches to commemorate their achievement.
The medals that are handed out weren’t introduced until 1896, close to 300 years after the Carlisle Bells (widely considered the oldest existing sports trophy on the planet) were first presented to the winner of a British horse race in 1599.
Virtually every single major sports organization on the planet has a trophy that’s handed out to the players or teams that reign supreme, and while most of them have a pretty hefty price tag, there are some that really stand out from the rest of the pack.
These are the most expensive sports trophies in the world
Sports trophies fall into one of two categories: some governing bodies commission a single one that trades hands when a new winner is declared, while others produce a new one that’s presented on a yearly basis.
Those that fall in the second group aren’t cheap by any means, but the $14,000 the NBA drops on the Larry O’Brien trophy each year and the estimated $20-30K it costs the MLB to produce the keepsake presented to the winner of the World Series makes them a bargain compared to some of the other trophies out there, including…
The Lombardi Trophy
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Estimated Value: $50,000
In 1966, Tiffany & Co. VP Oscar Riedner sketched his vision for a Super Bowl trophy on a cocktail napkin during a lunch with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, and the following year, the Packers became the first team to raise it with a victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl I.
The trophy got an official name following the death of coaching legend Vince Lombardi in 1970, and a new version is presented to the winner of The Big Game Each year.
Around $10,000 worth of sterling silver (a mixture of silver and copper) is used to create each 7 lb. piece, but the laborious production process that takes four months (not to mention the time needed to etch the name of the winner) means each one costs $50K to produce when everything is said and done.
The Stanley Cup
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Estimated Value: $650,000
In 1893, Lord Stanley of Preston (who was serving as the Governor General of Canada at the time) spent $48.67 (around $1,500 today) for the silver bowl that was presented to the winner of the Dominion Hockey Challenge that was used to determine the best amateur team in the country.
As you probably know, the trophy that was eventually dubbed the Stanley Cup in honor of the benefactor behind what is arguably the most iconic piece of championship hardware in the world of sports has undergone some major changes since its inception.
Teams who win are allowed to engrave the names of players, coaches, and other employees on a silver ring surrounding a base that was added to the ceremonial bowl a year after it was first presented, and after the NHL adopted it as its championship trophy in 1926, the number of rings was capped at five (older ones are rotated out as new victors are immortalized).
There are actually three versions of the Stanley Cup. The original bowl and the “Permanent Cup” are on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame, while the Presentation Cup (which has been subjected to a fair share of abuse) is the one players get to raise at the end of the season.
It’s made of silver and nickel, is close to three feet tall, weighs around 35 pounds, and is supposedly worth around $650,000.
The FA Cup
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Estimated Value: $1.18 million
The FA Cup is an annual competition used to determine the best soccer club England has to offer and was first held all the way back in 1872.
The original trophy was just 18 inches and was never recovered after being stolen in 1895. While a replica was quickly whipped up, a larger version was introduced in 1911, and while the design has largely remained the same, it’s been replaced by a new version on multiple occasions as a result of the wear and tear it’s subjected to.
The most recent FA Cup took 250 hours to produce, is made of close to 14 pounds of sterling silver, and is valued at around $1.18 million (the version it replaced was appraised for around the same amount after popping up on an episode of Antiques Roadshow).
The Indianapolis 500’s Borg-Warner Trophy
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Estimated Value: $3.5 million
The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most iconic car races on the planet, so it’s only natural the trophy presented to the winner is worth a fair amount of money.
The competition commonly referred to as the “Indy 500” was first held in 1911, and 25 years later, the automotive company the trophy is named after commissioned the piece that was introduced to the world at a dinner hosted by the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the race in 1936 (it replaced the Strauss Trophy that had previously been given to the winner).
The Borg-Warner Trophy permanently resides in the museum attached the the racetrack, and while the person who earns the checkered flag gets to spend some time with it after the event, they’re forced to settle for a miniature replica to display in their home.
It’s unclear how much those trophies cost, but the real one is made of sterling silver (are you sensing a trend here?), is more than five feet tall, and weighs more than 150 pounds. It cost $10,000 to make in the 1930s (around $225,000 today), but it’s currently insured for around $3.5 million.
The Preakness Stakes’ Woodlawn Vase
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Estimated Value: $4 million
The Kentucky Derby may be horse racing’s premiere event, but the trophy that’s presented to the winner (worth around $70,000) has nothing on the one given to the horse and jockey who top the rest of the field at the Preakness Stakes.
The Woodlawn Vase actually predates the race it’s associated with; it was first presented to the winner of a competition in Louisville in 1861 and didn’t become the official trophy of the Preakness Stakes until 1917 (44 years after the inaugural running took place at Pimlico Race Course).
Prior to 1953, the winner of that leg of the Triple Crown was allowed to keep the trophy for a year, but when an heir to the Vanderbilt fortune opted to let it remain in Maryland after their horse won that year, organizers decided to make it a permanent fixture at the racetrack and present smaller replicas to the winning jockey and owner of the horse (which are respectively worth $15,000 and $40,000).
The Woodlawn Vase is three feet tall and is made of 30 pounds of (you guessed it) sterling silver harnessed by the folks at Tiffany & Co. It is permanently housed in the Baltimore Museum of Art but is escorted to Pimlico for the Preakness Stakes under the watchful eye of the Maryland National Guard, whose members are tasked with keeping tabs on a trophy that’s worth $4 million.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy
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Estimated Value: $20 million
The World Cup is soccer’s greatest prize, so it makes sense that the folks at FIFA would produce what is far and away the most expensive sports trophy on the planet.
The original World Cup trophy (officially known as the “Jules Rimet Trophy” after a former FIFA president) was in the shape of a cup and made of gold-plated sterling silver. It was stolen while on display in England in 1966, and while it was recovered a week later, FIFA opted to commission a replica that was deployed whenever it was shown in public.
When Brazil won the World Cup for the third time in 1970, the country also earned the right to permanently keep the original Jules Rimet Trophy that was replaced by the globular version that is still used today (its predecessor was stolen for a second time in 1983 and was never recovered, as its believed thieves melted it down for cash).
When FIFA commissioned a new trophy after holding a design competition ahead of the World Cup in 1974, it opted to go big. While it may only be 14 inches high, it’s made out of more than 13 pounds of 18-carat gold, and experts estimate it’s worth a grand total of $20 million.