Did This SCP Auction Uncover a Championship Ring Scandal?

[sports-rings]

SCP auctions should be commended – They provided documentation and transparency on how mega-millionaire, Roger Staubach’s Heisman-Trophy Championship Ring was for sale.

When I first saw this championship ring available for auction I said “No way, how could this be?”

Roger Staubach was an amazing NFL quarterback – easily voted into the top 100 players of all time and a Pro Football Hall of Famer. And Roger Staubach has made many millions of dollars off the field in Real Estate.

I believe he’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars because of his successful business dealings so how in the world could his prized Heisman-Trophy ring be for sale?

Well it turns out that SCP Auctions who offered this ring for auction (through no fault of their own) uncovered or requested documentation from the consignor on what the story of this ring is.

And, if we put the pieces together, this is a very disturbing set of circumstances for championship ring collectors, sports memorabilia collectors, and a major Championship ring manufacturer.

I was “late to the game” of this sports auction – not really looking at any items until the final weekend of the sale. So I am not sure how this championship ring was originally written up in the catalog or online.

But, when I looked at this championship ring auction on Friday, with a day to go before a winner was established, I read this note, prominently displayed on the auction-page of the championship ring:

“NOTE: The description has been updated for this lot. Please-re-read prior to bidding. A copy of a letter from Herff Jones shown here identifies the ring as being specially produced by the company as a collectors item. A copy of the company’s shipping label is also provided.”


Now here’s the disturbing part and why I label this a possible Championship Ring scandal:

Herff Jones, the maker of these Heisman Trophy rings is a major championship ring manufacturing company. While they trail championship ring manufacturers such as Jostens, Tiffany, and Balfour in the number of rings they are awarded to produce, they still have made Super Bowl rings and Championship rings for the Colts (Super Bowl ring XLI) and the Colts 2009 AFC ring). They have also made championship rings for Florida Gators, Philadelphia Phillies, Indiana Pacers and New England Patriots (their 2011 AFC championship ring).

What blows my mind, is that they apparently made second Heisman-Trophy championship rings of Roger Staubach, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson and Tim Brown. This recreation was not for a museum or for the player, but for a collector’s personal collection! Here’s the proof:



The letter clearly states that permission was granted by Herff Jones to manufacture these rings, and the letter gently but clearly states the rings “are not to be sold or bartered on the open market”.

Well obviously, that gentle request fell by the waist side.

Did Herff Jones get permission to recreate rings with their official stamping from the original players?

Does the NFL or pro sports teams know Herff Jones is recreating championship rings as favors to collectors?

As a championship ring collector for a very long time, I can tell you how difficult and virtually impossible it is for a collector to contact a major ring manufacturer and get a ring made – especially when you have not worked for a team and you’re just a championship ring enthusiast.

I hope professional teams and sports league know about this matter, when choosing future Championship ring assignments.

Anyone have any thoughts on this matter?

[travrosty]

yeah, who was the heavy hitter who had these rings made and had such pull that he could convince herff jones to do it?

[gnaz01]

The grammar in that last paragraph is a joke!!!

[travrosty]

there would be no way to stop any heir from selling it when it gets passed down, so the disclaimer that he cant sell really isnt enforceable.

[sports-rings]

* deleted *

[CW]

Looks like a minor misunderstanding here, Michael. I am fairly certain that Greg was referring to the last paragraph in the Herff Jones letter you provided, not the last paragraph of your post. Greg is definitely one of the "good guys" here.

I have no take on this, but it's an interesting turn of events on this lot.

[sports-rings]

oh, shoot,

thanks for the clarification.

I am a poor writer, so I just assumed it was me!

[travrosty]

HJ said it was the balance of the order, so the order contained more than the 4 rings, how many? did he order them all?

[yanks12025]

Would the company need permission from the players to make others???? Just curious. Also the letter does state there's a differences between the real ones and these modern day ones.

[sports-rings]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

Would the company need permission from the players to make others???? Just curious. Also the letter does state there's a differences between the real ones and these modern day ones.

That's a great question and I have no idea. Had it been a championship ring I believe they would need permission from the team and league.

I have a pal who is very high up at the NFL and he has told me (he knows I love championship rings) how involved the NFL is and how restrictive they have become in having ring companies make 2nd rings and rings for friends. The companies have had to agree (I think he may have said they have to sign agreements) on the many restrictions.

Yes, these new rings are 10K and not 14K and don't have real diamonds, however, collectors can replace the fake diamonds with real diamonds and take advantage of non-educated collectors.

I know the leagues and ring companies don't care about ring collectors and many players would not care if they passed along a 2nd ring as their original ring, but these circumstances do hurt collectors.

A few years ago I was able to buy Tim Brown's Raiders AFC ring. I had a chance to buy his Heisman trophy ring and I didn't. Boy did I regret that blown chance, all because I did not know what a heisman trophy ring was and how rare they are (and now Tim is in the Pro football hof).

And what about the poor collector who paid $26,290 for Browns Heisman ring from Heritage in 2010? Think he's happy that there is an almost-exact copy floating around in the hobby?

Tim Brown is the official salesman sample on the AFC Raider ring, and I own it, so I hope someday, someone does not get one and slap on real diamonds and claim to have his original AFC championship ring (when they lost to the Bucs in Super Bowl XXXVII).

Thank goodness Herff Jones did not manufacture that ring!

At least I have paperwork from Tim that he sold the Raider ring that I own.