Your team just won the Super Bowl. If you’re a fan of a team that notched its first ever Lombardi trophy, like the Philadelphia Eagles, you might want to buy a replica championship ring to bask in the euphoria. The cost for an authorized replica sounds steep, but you find one for $25 on an internet store. Sometimes you get what you pay for though, and a shipment of poorly constructed counterfeit rings from overseas was recently intercepted by U.S. trade enforcement officers.
The shipment of more than 100 rings contained a variety of unlicensed replicas, representing the Eagles and other Super Bowl champions.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say the express consignment parcel arrived June 18 from Hong Kong manifested as alloy rings. CBP officers noted the poor craftsmanship and detained the rings to verify authenticity with the National Football League, the trademark holder. The NFL confirmed the rings as fakes. It’s illegal to sell rings bearing the team names and logos for sports franchises without a license from the league.
“Customs and Border Protection officers are like offensive linemen in that both are on the frontline and work hard to protect something important. CBP officers intercept counterfeit products at our nation’s Ports of Entry before they could harm U.S. consumers or businesses,” said Casey Durst, CBP Director of Field Operations in Baltimore.”
Authentic replica Super Bowl rings were produced after the Eagles won the Super Bowl last February. All 127 that were offered sold out at a price of over $11,000.
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