Pat Riley Makes Trademark Deal With NFL Ahead Of Super Bowl

The GM of the Miami Heat Pat Riley will get some use out of his trademark phrase "Three-Peat" as the Super Bowl approaches.

Aug 12, 2023; Springfield, MA, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley walks the red carpet at the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Miami Heat team president Pat Riley could make a decent amount of money if the Super Bowl falls in his favor.

The Kansas City Chiefs will become the first team in the Super Bowl Era to three-peat if they defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. If you asked Pat Riley who he is favoring, his latest deal with the NFL suggests his rooting interest.

Pat Riley successfully trademarked the phrase “three-peat” when he and the Lakers were trying to win their third-straight NBA title in 1989.

The NFL has just struck a deal with Riles & Co. to use the phrase on merchandise if the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIX. pic.twitter.com/DMyrCWRSyR
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 4, 2025

In August of 1989 Riles & Company, Inc., Riley's corporate entity, successfully registered a trademark in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office —Registration Number 1552980— the phrase “three-peat.” Since, the only teams to three-peat are the Chicago Bulls (91'-93', 96'-98'), the New York Yankees (98'-2000), and the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s.

The terms of the deal haven't been revealed, but Finance Monthly reported Riley received $600,000 from the Chicago Bulls in 1998 when they completed a second three-peat. Adjusted for inflation the outcome would be $1.16 million as of December 2024. This deal could make Riley more $2 million if Patrick Mahomes leads the Chiefs to victory.

Riley has said he donates most of the trademark money to charity so a win for the Chiefs would also benefit others.

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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and a contributor to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@Justice_News5.