The Patriots on Friday received their Super Bowl LI rings in a ceremony at Owner Robert Kraft's home, and each ring contains 283 diamonds, an "apparent nod to the team's comeback from a 28-3 deficit" against the Falcons, according to ESPN.com. The team said that the amount of diamonds is the "most used in a Super Bowl ring and more than double what the Patriots had in their rings" in '04 and '05. Among the Super Bowl ring's other notable details: It has a "carat weight of 5.1; the right side of the ring is framed by Kraft's postgame comment, 'Unequivocally the sweetest'; and the right arbor on the inside of the ring reads, 'Greatest comeback ever'" (ESPN.com, 6/10). ESPN.com's Mike Reiss noted the Patriots -- "attempting to not draw public attention to it -- didn't advertise" the 283 diamonds in a press release. They instead said each ring had "more than 280 diamonds" (ESPN.com, 6/11). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote it is "not really a slap in [the face of] the Falcons." However, the Patriots "came back from that deficit, so 28-3 is more of a rallying cry for them than a shot at the Falcons" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/10)
HOW BIG IS TOO BIG? Former NFLer Terrence Knighton said if the Patriots repeat this season, they will "want their ring to be bigger." He said, "How big are the rings going to get now? Whoever wins the NBA championship, their ring will try to outdo the Patriots or find the way to have the biggest ring. At this point it's getting ridiculous" ("PFT,” NBCSN, 6/12). In Chicago, Rick Morrissey wrote the Pats' rings are the "biggest Super Bowl rings ever made," and what we have now is an "arms race for fingers." There are "chandeliers that feel inadequate in the presence of some of these rings." Morrissey: "I don't know where this ring race is going except onward, upward and bling-ward. ... Rings not meant to be worn, ones that come with their own unbreachable display cases, like you see at a museum? Clearly, we're on the road to that" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/12).
