Packers legend Dave Robinson happy after Super Bowl rings sell at auction for record amount

Dave Robinson started doing the math on how much money he earned in 12 seasons playing in the NFL.

As the former Green Bay Packers star linebacker kept counting, he came up with one conclusion. He made more in two days last weekend than he did during his Hall of Fame career, or at least in the same neighborhood.

The 81-year-old Robinson auctioned his Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II rings, along with 30 other items, in Heritage Auctions’ Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction on Saturday and Sunday in Dallas.

The results were staggering.

Robinson’s Super Bowl rings sold for $174,000 each, easily setting the highest auction price for a Super Bowl I or Super Bowl II ring.

Former offensive lineman Jerry Kramer’s Super Bowl I ring is believed to have held the previous high after selling for $125,475 in 2016.

Robinson’s rings were estimated to go for at least $100,000 each, but blew by that figure in the final hours of the auction. Both rings didn’t have much movement in the weeks leading up to the last day, making Robinson ponder whether he had made a mistake letting them go.

No worries.

“I’m happy with it,” Robinson said. “I’m an old man. There are things I want to do before I die, and this is going to let me do it. I’ll put it this way: I’ve got enough to do what I want to do, and you’ve got enough now to pay for my funeral. That’s all I wanted to do.”

Related: First Green Bay Packers team photograph will be auctioned this month

Robinson will be able to do much more than that. His items in the auction cleared at more than $425,000. After everything was totaled, and after Heritage received 20% for the buyer’s premium, it left Robinson with $354,500.

Not bad for someone who earned $15,000 in each of his first two seasons in the NFL. Robinson said his salary went up to $20,000 his third year after legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi gave him a raise.

“All the money I got for 10 years playing for the Green Bay Packers was less than one half of what the guy playing my position now gets for one game,” said Robinson, who played his final two seasons in Washington in 1973 and 1974.

Robinson, who lives in Akron, Ohio, doesn’t have plans to buy a new car or take a few lavish vacations. He previously said he wanted to use the proceeds from the auction to help his granddaughter pay for law school.

“It’s a funny feeling knowing there are some of these things I will never see again,” said Robinson, who kept his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring. “I don’t need anything. I’m pretty well set. So, I just want to take care of the grandchildren and my son and my sister. That’s all.

“When you get older, you think about other things. All along I was trying to hurry up and build up my resources so I’d have money when I got older. Now, I am older.”

Robinson’s Super Bowl rings weren’t the only items that fetched big money.

His 1982 Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame ring sold for $28,800, while his Super Bowl II game-worn cleats went for $15,000.

There were eight other items that sold for at least $1,000, including five that went from between $3,000 and $5,640.

“I was just happy for Dave,” Heritage consignment director Chris Nerat said. “It’s a true example of good karma. He is literally one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, one of the most genuine people I’ve ever been around. He deserves it. A Pro Football Hall of Famer, one of the most beloved Packers of all time, one of the best ambassadors of the team.

“His career was basically capped off in our auction, representing this great guy."

Nerat joked he was happy the bidding for the Super Bowl rings finally took off late. It’s a good bet he’d have received some grief from his good friend Robinson.

“Going into the last week, I don’t know if the Super Bowl II ring had more than one bid on it,” Nerat said. “I’d be lying to say that I wasn’t a little anxious about what the final results would be. But bidding in major auctions, a majority of times, there isn’t a bidding war until the end. That’s exactly what happened.”

Robinson plans to attend three or four Packers games in 2022, including against the New York Giants in London.

With all his new money, he might be expected to pick up the dinner tab among friends when he’s back in Green Bay this fall.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Robinson said, laughing. “I’ll buy a round of drinks.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Packers legend Dave Robinson auctions Super Bowl I, II rings