Even though they aren't in the Super Bowl, items from the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers ruled a Super Bowl LIX auction in New Orleans on Saturday.
Ten Pittsburgh Steelers items sold for a combined $360,138, all from the collection of fan Timothy Kelley, who bought many of the items directly from the team.
Jerseys worn by Jack Lambert ($55,813) and Franco Harris ($52,875) topped the list, while a game-used Terry Bradshaw helmet ($49,350) and a Mike Webster jersey ($44,650) surpassed the $40,000 mark.
A Tom Brady jersey, photo-matched to two Patriots' games in the 2012 season, sold for an auction-high $282,000.
Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett's ring from Super Bowl LI, the game when the Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, sold for $88,125. The Bennett ring was the first player ring that has hit auction from that Super Bowl, though Patriots owner Robert Kraft auctioned off his ring in 2020 for an all-time Super Bowl ring record of $1.025 million, with proceeds going toward feeding those in need during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other interesting items that sold in the auction were Brian Urlacher's jersey from the game he got run over by "The Bus," Jerome Bettis in Dec. 2005, and a broadside advertisement for the first Super Bowl, that had never been seen at auction, that sold for $5,875. The ad had the word "Superbowl" as one word, as the name for the game didn't evolve officially until two years later.
A few Notre Dame items garnered interest in the auction, including a 1923 Notre Dame football banquet menu signed by Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen ($6,463). The program from the "Win one for the Gipper" game sold for $2,115.
A signed Vince Lombardi document, from the closing of his New Jersey home in 1954, shortly after getting the job as offensive coordinator with the New York Giants, sold for $1,410.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.