Steelers' Rival Lamar Jackson Involved In Interesting Legal Dispute

The Pittsburgh Steelers enter 2024 as members of arguably the toughest division in the NFL. The AFC North is loaded with talent and one could make several cases as to why all four organizations have a legitimate chance to win the division. The favorite to prevail after the rigorous 17-game stretch is currently the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson is coming off of an MVP season and the addition of Derrick Henry will have the offense running all over the place. Off the field situations are never good for players as a season approaches, but Jackson has found himself looped into a legal dispute with a Hall of Famer.

Jackson will be considered for the Hall of Fame one day, especially if he continues to be dominant on the football field. A former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, however, is making Jackson's life difficult off of the gridiron. According to new reports, the legendary Troy Aikman is involved in a legal controversy with Jackson over a conflict regarding the number eight. 

ESPN released an article on Thursday that detailed the situation. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office complaint was summarized by Michael Rothstein, who wrote about the situation.

"Jackson, who owns or has applied for several trademarks using the number in various phrases, says Aikman's attempt to use "EIGHT" on apparel and bags would be 'likely to cause confusion, or cause mistake, or to deceive' the purchasing public as to whether they're buying products from Jackson or Aikman's company."

It's an interesting scenario given players across all professional sports wear the number, but there aren't too many Hall of Fame or future Hall of Fame-caliber signal-callers who have used the number to market themselves or a business. Steve Young is the only other quarterback inducted in Canton that donned the same number as the two bickering in court. The number is frowned upon amongst Steelers fans currently, as the Kenny Pickett experiment didn't necessarily work out.

Rothstein went into more detail regarding the complaint. Jackson apparently feels as if he has used his reputation on and off the field to market the number eight, which makes Aikman using it in certain ways incorrect legally.

"Jackson '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.'"

The situation becomes even more intriguing when one realizes that the two quarterbacks didn't choose to just wear the number at the professional level, but in college as well. It's a different era when it comes to branding, which is why Jackson seems to believe that Aikman shouldn't be able to use the number eight to give himself an advantage when it comes to a business venture.

Legal proceedings can take years to play out so it will be interesting to see which direction the court battle ends up going in. It appears Jackson may have the advantage thus the dispute. Rothstein shared more from Jackson's attorney.

"Jackson has applied for trademarks on multiple 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 says 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."

That is only one side to the story, but it sure seems like Jackson has marketed himself with his number and Aikman might be crossing the line with his, but it's also noted that both individuals own some form of right to the number.

Steelers Not Necessarily Fond Of Either Quarterback

Pittsburgh dislikes Jackson due to the division rivalry, but Aikman is one of the reasons the Steelers' organization doesn't have seven Super Bowl titles after his Cowboys prevailed in Super Bowl XXX in the 1995 NFL season. 

It's silly to think that two professional athletes are bickering in court over something as simple as a number, but overall, it shouldn't affect Jackson's on-field play as the 2024 season gets ready to start. It will be a fun game to tune into if Aikman is calling any Ravens' games for Fox in 2024.

Do you care at all that Jackson is involved in a legal battle with Aikman? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation