The next big decision: the Buccaneer ring

Charlie Anderson was hard at work Monday designing what he hopes will become the most precious jewelry in Tampa Bay: the Bucs' Super Bowl rings.

The official designer for Jostens, which has produced 24 of 36 Super Bowl rings, Anderson will sketch up to 12 designs, which the company will present to the team as early as next week. Jostens, other national ring manufacturers such as Tiffany and Co., and perhaps some bay area jewelers will then bid on the contract.

The NFL will pay up to $5,000 each for 150 rings for the Bucs. The Green Bay Packers' rings in 1967 cost $750 apiece.

The team will have unlimited input on the design and can make the rings as expensive as it wishes if it pays the difference.

Some ring facts: An average man's ring is 12 pennyweight. The heaviest Super Bowl rings on record (for the 1998 Broncos and 2000 Ravens) were 46. The Broncos' ring had a record 124 diamonds.

The design is a personal matter for teams, from the choice of gold or platinum to the number of rocks. The Ravens' ring boasted the team logo with a ruby eye lying on a field of diamonds. An additional 40 diamonds around the rectangular top represented team owner Art Modell's 40 years in the league.