Lamar Jackson of the NFL team Baltimore Ravens has challenged Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s trademark claim of a stylized No. 8 that he used for JR Motorsports. Jackson’s lawyers filed a notice of opposition on Wednesday, saying that the claim would conflict with Jackson’s “Era 8” brand. However, fans are plenty clear about the legitimacy of Junior’s claim for the trademark.
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The filing by Jackson read, “(Earnhardt Jr.’s) mark falsely suggests a connection with persons, living or dead, namely, Lamar Jackson, who is well known by the number 8.” A fan wrote in response to veteran reporter Jeff Gluck’s X post about the news, “NOBODY confuses any of Junior’s 8s…well except for maybe Mr. Jackson.” This is a valid statement considering history.
Junior has been associated with the No. 8 since the 1990s when he entered NASCAR as a driver for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. After his father died in 2001, he got into odds with his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, and moved to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. In the new team, he adopted the No. 88. Teresa, meanwhile, continued holding onto the rights of the No. 8.
It was out of the blue last year that she decided to let go of her claim. This prompted Junior to reclaim what was rightfully his. One fan joked, “@DaleJr started racing the 8 in Cup in 1999. @Lj_era8 was still in diapers.” Another added, “Bro should be more worried abt winning a ring instead of a trademark.” Clearly, Jackson isn’t finding a lot of support.
bro should be more worried abt winning a ring instead of a trademark
— Isaiah Hait (@zayhait) April 4, 2025
Many wondered the sensibility of his opposition considering the popularity and influence of Junior. A comment said, “Dude apparently has been under a rock for twenty years! #8 IS JR!”
There are two iterations of the No. 8 that Junior uses. It is just one of them, a slanted one with a different font from the other, that Jackson has a problem with. He believes that buyers could connect it with him.
One fan who was aware of this pondered, “It’s literally a trademark to the font, not the number…… last time I checked, the Ravens didn’t have a slanted 8 on their jerseys.”
Representatives of neither Jackson nor Junior were ready to comment about the issue in public. NASCAR and the icons in it have been spending a lot of time in court recently. One can only wonder what turn this dispute will take.
