Jamal Lewis won one Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, but the former All-Pro running back has two championship rings. Or, should we say, Lewis had two championship rings.
After the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII two years ago, team owner Steve Bisciotti gave Lewis and fellow Ravens Ring of Honor members Michael McCrary, Jonathan Ogden, Matt Stover and Peter Boulware honorary championship rings. As The Baltimore Sun noted, Lewis’ ring was recently sold by Goldin Auctions to a Maryland collector for just over $50,000.
“It’s a tremendous price for a retired player who got it as a honorary gift, as opposed to being an active member of that team,” Goldin Auctions president and founder Ken Goldin told The Baltimore Sun. “On the flip side, the purchaser is able to get a ring of a long-term superstar and potential Hall of Famer and able to get a Super Bowl ring with a player with that player’s name on it. Obviously, as we’ve learned, the better the player is, the more valuable the ring is.”
While that may seem like a slap in the face to Bisciotti and the Ravens, Lewis has had some financial problems since his NFL career ended. He filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and listed $14.5 million in assets and $10.6 million in debts. Lewis has had a number of failed real estate ventures and business projects since his last season with the Cleveland Browns in 2009.
All that said, we have heard some bizarre stories about Super Bowl rings over the past several months. This one certainly makes the list.
