Professional sports trophies are a funny thing when it comes to value. This is because the true dollar value of them don’t take into account intangibles like emotions and how hard people work to earn said trophies. The following prices are based on melt value alone. Of course, to the people who fight to win these trophies, the price tag means nothing.
NFL
Named after legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, this trophy is given to the winner of ‘The Superbowl’ every year. It was first awarded on January 15th, 1967, and has been given out 49 times since. It is 22 inches tall and is made completely out of sterling silver.
NBA
Handed out every year, The Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy is rewarded to the best team in the NBA Playoffs. It is named after Larry O’Brien, who served as NBA Commissioner from 1975-1984. This trophy stands at 2 feet tall and weighs 14.5 pounds. It consists of sterling silver, vermeil, and 24 karat gold overlay.
Olympics
As far as sports go, it’s tough to find a reward that may be more famous than an Olympic gold metal. They’re stunning, resemble excellence in a specific sport, and well, they’re gold. However, the scrap value of an Olympic gold medal is a mere $500 because of the fact that they contain only 6 grams of actual gold- the rest is sterling silver.
Indianapolis 500
First handed out in 1936, this sterling silver trophy has multiple layers and an unclothed man waving a checkered flag perched up top. The trophy is engraved with the name and average speed of the winner of the Indianapolis 500 every year. It is currently insured for over $1.3 million.
MLB
This trophy is the only trophy in the 4 major sports leagues in North America that isn’t named after a person. It is given each year to the team that wins the World Series. This particular trophy is 24 inches tall and weighs approximately 30 pounds. It is made out of silver, gold, and 24 karat vermeil stitching.
NHL
The Stanley Cup trophy is awarded to the team that wins the NHL playoffs every year. There are actually 3 cups, the Dominion hockey challenge cup, the presentation cup (given out to the winner,) and the replica cup that is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame. The presentation cup is 35.25 inches tall and weighs 34.5 pounds. It is made of both silver and nickel alloy.
FIFA
Presented to FIFA world cup winners since 1970, this trophy is made entirely of 18 karat gold as well as a malachite base. It is 36.8 cm tall and weighs about 6 kilos or 13 pounds.
