The WNBA saw record-shattering attendance and viewership in 2024 — and now players from the New York Liberty will dazzle even more after taking home the priciest championship rings in league history for their win last year.
The glittery championship hardware is worth $60,000 a pop — $20,000 more than the rings the Las Vegas Aces earned after their championship win just two seasons prior, Front Office Sports reported earlier this month.
“If you look at rings from even five years ago, they were small, they were simple,” said jeweler Jason Arasheben — who worked on the look of the Liberty’s rings with L’enchanteur designers Dynasty and Soull Ogun — in an interview with The New York Times last month.
“But recently, we’ve seen them get bigger and bigger and bigger, partly because there is a certain level of competition between players and owners, and also because it allows for more real estate to tell the story. Now with the New York Liberty, we’ve gone even further, even more over the top.”
This year’s ring follows a push by Liberty co-owner Clara Wu Tsai and Liberty CEO Keia Clarke to make rings distinct from those seen in the NBA while also reflecting the growth of the WNBA, per the Times.
Wu Tsai and her husband, Joseph Tsai, co-own the Liberty and the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, which share an arena. Their initiative with the ring was in line with their efforts to make sure the two Brooklyn teams get equal treatment.
WNBA championship rings have gotten noticeably bigger than those of the league’s earlier champions, as seen in a photo that Minnesota Lynx president of business operations Carley Knox sent to Front Office Sports.
ONROPE Studios (Courtesy of New York Liberty)
The new rings for the Liberty are equipped with about 110 grams worth of white gold, white and black diamonds, and Paraíba tourmaline, according to FOS. The higher price of the rings is…
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