In a matter of days, the Kansas City Chiefs will leave for New Orleans and Super Bowl LIX, where they hope to become the first team in NFL history to win three successive Super Bowls. Standing in their way are the Philadelphia Eagles, winners of the NFC and the team Kansas City defeated in Super Bowl LVII, two seasons ago.
Pat Riley’s trademark phrase could pay out big if Chiefs win Super Bowl
The NBA legend would benefit most from a Chiefs three-peat
Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Should the Chiefs accomplish this three-peat, they might face another foe in the days that follow.
Pat Riley, former NBA coach and current President of the Miami Heat.
The reason? That comes down to a matter of trademark law and dates back to the 1988-1989 NBA season, when Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers were trying to win their third straight NBA title. Along the way Riley and the Lakers spoke of their desire for a “three-peat,” and in August of 1989 Riles & Company, Inc., the coach’s corporate entity, successfully registered a trademark in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office — Registration Number 1552980 — the phrase “three-peat.”
According to a search of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Riley’s company currently holds trademarks for “three-peat,” “threepeat,” “3 peat,” and “three peat,” along with trademarks for those phrases with different fonts. The searches also reveal that Riles & Company has registered these trademarks for use on products such as sunglasses, backpacks, computer bags, and more.
Just because Riles & Company has these trademarks does not mean that the Chiefs would be barred from using this phrasing on merchandise, it would just mean that they and/or the NFL would be required to pay royalties to Riles & Company. While the 1988-1989 Lakers fell short of their three-peat, the Chicago Bulls accomplished the feat twice in the years that followed, first in 1993 and again in 1998. According to this study Riles & Company pulled in approximately $300,000 in licensing and royalty fees after the Bulls’ win in 1993, and more than doubled that when the Bulls enjoyed their second three-peat in 1998.
One can only imagine what Riles & Company could pull in should the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIX. It might even be enough to sign Jimmy Butler to the long-term extension he is looking for.
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