Eli’s NFC has won the battle of the Manning Brothers at the Pro Bowl Games, achieving the ‘three-peat’ he had manifested so much before the clash. Now that his side beat Peyton Manning’s AFC 76-63 in Orlando on Sunday night, maybe Eli can look to sell merchandise to commemorate the achievement. To brag about it mostly, and maybe monetize the achievement too. The real question is: Can Eli use the phrase, ‘three-peat’, for a commercial purpose?
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Well, he apparently can’t. The phrase is trademarked by none other than Pat Riley. Now, that’s some serious repercussions we are talking about. And Riley doesn’t have to think too much about what to do if Eli uses the patented words. Peyton has already suggested the path.
Prior to the clash at the Pro Bowl, Peyton had offered a solution, laced with brotherly banter, on an episode of the Pat McAfee Show.
“I hope Pat sues Eli just for using it, especially when it’s not going to happen because AFC is going to take care of business,” Peyton had said.
Of course, Peyton was so confident of winning the game at the time, preventing the three-peat in the first place. But now that it is achieved, Pat could indeed sue Eli. He has a precedent of doing it in the NFL too.
The Miami Heat boss’ firm, Riles & Company Inc., had sent a legal notice to the USC Trojans for attempting to sell ‘three-peat’ merchandise in anticipation of coach Pete Carroll powering them to a potential third consecutive National Championship win in 2005.
Riley has not spared the NBA either. The Chicago Bulls once ended up paying him $300,000 for unauthorized usage of the trademark in 1993 after winning their third back-to-back championship. Riley is pretty unforgiving when it comes to patent infringement. He had once stated that if they wanted to use the phrase, they should pay the royalty for it.
“It’s like going out there and picking up a penny on the ground,” said Riley in an interview with ESPN.
“I don’t pay any attention to it. If somebody wants to license that phrase, we’ll license it to them. But I don’t go out and pursue it. We don’t sell it; we don’t browbeat anybody. If they want it, they go to somebody and they’ll pay us a royalty on it,” he added.
Riley had trademarked ‘three-peat’ in the late 1980s when he was coaching the LA Lakers, who were chasing their third NBA title in a row after winning the 1987 and ’88 championships. Anticipating the victory again in 1989, Riley coined the phrase but couldn’t use it as the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.
His company owns at least six live patents for the use of the phrase. And, Riley gets a 5% royalty when someone uses the phrase on T-shirts, jackets, hats, posters, and trading cards.
Let us not forget that another ‘three-peat’ is possibly on the cards in football next week. The Kansas City Chiefs are on the verge of making history as they chase their third straight Super Bowl title on February 9. But standing in their way is a familiar foe, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jalen Hurts had put on a stellar performance for the Eagles in their last Super Bowl matchup but still fell short. Can he flip the script this time? Peyton believes he’s in a better position than before to do just that.
Peyton reflects on the Eagles 2023 Super Bowl loss
Hurts has already defied the odds by making his second Super Bowl appearance. Peyton revealed that before last year’s Super Bowl, the Alabama alum reached out to him for advice for preparation and routine leading up to the big game.
This time around, Peyton is yet to get a call. And he sees that as a good sign for the Eagles. Peyton believes Hurts now knows what to expect and will be better equipped to handle the pressure on football’s biggest stage.
“I think he’ll be way more comfortable. Hurts, I remember talking to him a couple of years ago about what’s the advice, what’s the routine. He didn’t call me for that this year because he knows it. I think the more comfortable you are during the week, the better you are going to play,” Peyton added.
However, experience from one Super Bowl appearance, and being relatively at ease, will not guarantee that things will go differently this time. John Elway didn’t win until his 4th Super Bowl despite making three appearances in five seasons.
The Chiefs have experience in Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid to pull off a ‘three-peat’. But the Eagles have a better roster this time around. That said, it will still take a team effort, luck, and something special from Hurts and Saquon Barkley to change the outcome of the biggest game in football.
