FedEx Again Delivers Super Bowl Trophy

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This story appears in the Feb. 1 print edition of Transport Topics.

On Feb. 7, in a scene that most Americans have watched every winter, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will present the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy to the owner and coach of the team that wins the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California. But few consider how the trophy will get to the stage to be hoisted in triumph by either the Carolina Panthers or the Denver Broncos.

That honor again went to FedEx Corp. This is the 16th year that the Memphis, Tennessee-based company transported the trophy.

Phil Tejero, a Bay Area resident and 17-year employee of the carrier, delivered the trophy Jan. 30 in a zero-emissions electric truck, handing it to former San Francisco 49ers star Roger Craig to kick off the NFL Experience, an eight-day fan festival preceding Super Bowl 50.

鈥淓very day, more than 340,000 FedEx team members around the globe help deliver a wide variety of special packages to our customers,鈥 said Patrick Fitzgerald, FedEx鈥檚 senior vice president of Integrated Marketing and Communications. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor for FedEx to deliver the iconic Lombardi Trophy to football fans in the Bay Area in advance of Super Bowl 50.鈥



The trophy鈥檚 journey started at the NFL鈥檚 New York offices where it was crated Jan. 25 under the supervision of league security and then handed to a FedEx Express driver, who delivered it to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. From there, FedEx flew the trophy through its Memphis hub and on to San Francisco with the crate monitored for such environmental factors as temperature and humidity, as well as light detection, which would indicate whether it had been opened prematurely.

Once in San Francisco, a white-gloved security person from the NFL is with the trophy at all times, except for the few minutes when awarded to the winners. It will then be whisked back to Tiffany & Co., the luxury jeweler that customized the sterling silver trophy, to be engraved with the champion鈥檚 name and then delivered to the organization鈥檚 headquarters.

Unlike the NHL鈥檚 Stanley Cup that gets passed along to championship winners, a Super Bowl trophy is created each year.

The Lombardi Trophy features a regulation-size football crafted out of sterling silver, is 22 inches high and weighs nearly 7 pounds.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said just about every visitor to the league鈥檚 offices is drawn to the trophy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the hero display,鈥 McCarthy said of the trophy and the rings given to the winners. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very particular about who can touch the Lombardi Trophy. It gets white-glove treatment. It鈥檚 truly priceless.鈥

The league hasn鈥檛 yet disclosed which figure from its history will make the presentation along with Goodell, who relishes the moment each year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the high point of every season and such a privilege to be up on that stand seeing the incredible joy and feeling of accomplishment in the Super Bowl champions, their families and fans,鈥 Goodell told Transport Topics.

Given that this is the 50th Super Bowl, McCarthy said to expect an extra special ceremony in Santa Clara.