“You 8 Yet?”: $260M QB Lamar Jackson and Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman’s Trademark Dispute Over Jersey Number Is Getting Ugly

Lamar Jackson and Troy Aikman are household names when referencing the great NFL quarterbacks of our time, and they both happen to have worn No. 8.

There’s not a football fan in the world who wouldn’t love to see prime Aikman and prime Jackson face off in a Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl.

So both of these legends clashing in the courts of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is the next best thing.

The No. 8 will forever be associated with both quarterbacks, who had very different styles but touched fans equally and in their own way.

Aikman is the last Dallas Cowboys quarterback to win a Super Bowl. He won three in the 1990s. Jackson hasn’t won any yet, but he’s already a two-time MVP. So both players bring great value to the number and naturally, it is attached to both of their brands in some way.

Looks like Aikman’s brand is still healthy as Lamar Jackson’s grows and inevitably somebody has to fall back.

Lamar Jackson Takes Troy Aikman to Court

Jackson, who owns and has applied for multiple trademarks with the number, is entering a legal dispute with Aikman’s team over the former Cowboys quarterback’s use of the number.

Aikman doesn’t actually use the digit “8.” The NFL analyst rather spells it out with all capital letter (“EIGHT.”)

It’s not a blatant infringement of Jackson’s trademarks, but Jackson and his team believe it may cause confusion for fans looking to buy one of his products associated with the brand.

The Ravens quarterback has filed two appeals against FL101, a company that lists Aikman as a director. FL101 reportedly owns nine trademarks with the term “EIGHT,” but it was reported that the appeals are only targeting the apparel and bags. Other products with “EIGHT” include beer, beach towels and energy drinks.

Lamar Jackson-Troy Aikman Trademark Dispute

Jackson’s booming brand has been crafted around the No. 8 jersey that he’s worn since his college days at Louisville, when he became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy at 19. He’s become synonymous with the number among the current generation of NFL fans. Many who refer to him as LJ8.

The Baltimore quarterback already owns a few trademarks and has a few pending trademarks that include No. 8. Jackson and his team want to keep Aikman from using “EIGHT” on products because it likely will “cause confusion, or cause mistake, or to deceive” customers, Jackson’s attorney said.

Jackson has been creating his own apparel for years under his Era 8 Apparel brand, with products including T-shirts that just have the numeral 8 on them.

On his Era 8 website, Jackson has a Youth Collection with bookbags and books for children like “Lamar Ride, I Ride: The Vehicle To Success.” He also has a women’s and men’s collection consisting of various Tees. As well as a unisex collection that includes hats, cologne and bags, all branded by Jackson.

He also has iPhone cases, hoodies and mugs

Jackson, who signed a five-year, $260 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens prior to the 2023 NFL season that  includes $185 million in guaranteed money, has reportedly applied for a number of trademarks around the number, most of them featuring the “Era 8” name.

Jackson definitely has the money to make this a lengthy brand battle. He’s making an average of $52 million per year and added a $72.5 million signing bonus.

This isn’t the first time Jackson has gone to battle over his apparel company, as he filed a lawsuit against Amazon in 2020 over selling unlicensed merchandise featuring his registered trademarks.

What Needs To Be Proved?

Jackson’s team is claiming, “has expended considerable time, effort, and expense in promoting, advertising, and popularizing the number 8 in connection with his personality and fame [and] is well-known by this number due to his notoriety and fame, along with his promotion of this number in his trademarks and in media coverage,” according to the appeals .

Jackson has applied for trademarks on various usages of the number eight, including “Era 8 by Lamar Jackson,” “Era 8,” “You 8 yet?” and a logo of a “stylized wild dog” over a shield with “2018 Era 8 by Lamar Jackson 2018” around the dog.

Jackson’s attorney is claiming that his trademarks of these sayings using the number were registered before Aikman’s “Eight” and that the products from Aikman’s company are “highly similar in sound, appearance, connotation, and commercial impression” to Jackson’s trademarks.

Shouldn’t the better QB get top billing when it comes to the use of the number for branding purposes? Or should they both continue to share its impact, especially if the logos are spelled differently and attract a different consumer base?

Is it the two-time MVP or the three-time Super Bowl champ who gets to corner the market on a jersey number they both helped make profitable?