New Orleans Saints Receive Long Awaited Super Bowl XLIV Championship Rings

The New Orleans Saints received their XLIV Super Bowl Championship Rings Wednesday night in a private ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, LA. The players of the 2009 Championship team walked the red carpet s they arrived for the ceremony dressed to the hilt.

Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints arrived in a black suit with gold pinstripes that had the words "Saints World Champions" on the stripes. That's pretty clever and original.

The Championship rings designed and made by Tiffany's has the Saints "fleur de les" emblem outlined in black and raised with a single .06 carat round diamond set in the center to mark the championship surrounded by 16 smaller diamonds that represented the 16 wins during the 2009 season. Forty four more diamonds surround the ring that represents the 44^th Super bowl. The words "World Champions" is set at the top of the ring with eight more diamonds.

On one side the Championship ring is the Super Bowl XLIV logo, the score of the Super Bowl game, the date of the game and location, Miami, FL and the NFL shield. The opposite side of the ring has each player's name, number and position engraved along with a carnival float with the Lombardi trophy, city of New Orleans skyline with the Superdome and a line of musical notes from the Saint's theme song "When the Saints Go Marching In." What an impressive ring!

The championship rings are 14k yellow gold, rectangular in shape containing 2 ct. total weight diamonds, and very eye catching. They are also very expensive with estimates all over the map. However, the actual cost of the Championship rings has not been disclosed. The estimated value of each ring is said to be as high as $30,000. The NFL provides funds up to $5,000 for each ring, but Tiffinays confirmed that these rings were well above the usual budget. In fact, the store has an agreement to sell a line of commemorative Super Bowl jewelry in exchange for absorbing the extra cost for the Super Bowl rings.

Several fans gathered across the street from the Roosevelt Hotel to watch the 2009 Championship team arrive and cheered them on. Drew Brees, Darren Sharper, Jeremy Shockey and owner of the franchise, Tom Benson drew the most applause.

Quarterback Drew Brees had several comments on the ring after the ceremony, saying the ring was "absolutely perfect" and "priceless."

Garret Hartley said that even though he doesn't wear much jewelry, he would be sleeping with his ring on that night and would definitely be wearing it for a few days.

A special invitation went out to several former Saint's players including Charles Grant, Mike McKenzie, Scott Fujita, John Carney, Mark Brunell, Paul Spicer, Darnell Dinkins, Billy Miller, Jamar Nesbit, Mike Bell and Deuce McAllister to attend the ring ceremony and after-party.

Coach Sean Payton called the ring "beautiful" and added that having the first one makes him thirsty for more.

Rita Benson LeBlanc, executive vice president for the Saints made the statement that the awarding of the Super Bowl Championship Ring that will be raffled off for Gulf Coast Recovery after the BP oil spill will not be made at the Roosevelt Hotel. She wants this ceremony to remain "special" for the team. You can learn more about the Super Bowl Championship Ring raffle here.

The New Orleans Saints will be going to the White House in August to meet President Barack Obama for a post-Super Bowl XLIV Championship celebration to commemorate the big win. Then it will be back to business for the Saints on the practice field to get ready for the new football season.

Source:

Nola.com

Nola.com: Saints Super Bowl Rings