Super Bowl LIX has yet to be played, but the Kansas City Chiefs have secured a championship victory in merchandise.
The team and the iconic ex-NBA coach/current executive Pat Riley have agreed to a deal that will allow Kansas City to make “Three Peat” merchandise if it wins Super Bowl LIX, an attorney for Riley told cllct on Tuesday.
The exact details of the deal are unknown as Kansas City is seeking to become the first team to ever win three straight Super Bowls when it takes on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
While the Chiefs’ run for a three-peat has been one of the NFL’s top storylines this season, they’ve had a hurdle in fully profiting off the phrase “Three Peat.” Riley trademarked the term and five others adjacent to it when he coached the Lakers to their second consecutive title in the 1987-88 season.
Like the Chiefs, Riley’s Lakers made it back to the championship round that third season. However, they were swept by the Detroit Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals.
Riley left the Lakers in 1990 and later became the head coach of the New York Knicks and Miami Heat. He never led those teams to a three-peat, but he came close to accomplishing three titles in a row in his role as the Heat’s president. Miami won the 2012 and 2013 NBA Finals before losing in the 2014 NBA Finals.
Best of Kansas City Chiefs Opening Night | Super Bowl LIX on FOX
While Riley has never accomplished a three-peat, a few other notable teams have in recent decades. The Chicago Bulls three-peated twice in the 1990s and the Lakers completed their three-peat in 2002. The New York Yankees also won three World Series in a row from 1998-2000.
Riley profited off merchandise that used “Three Peat” during each of those team’s title runs. However, the licensing fee Riley received was likely just 10-15% of the royalty on the wholesale price of those items, cllct reported.
If the Chiefs are able to win their third straight Super Bowl on Sunday, “Three Peat” merchandise would reportedly be made by Fanatics, New Era, Wilson, Riddell and Wincraft and sold at Chiefs retail.
As for whatever earnings Riley would make from the Chiefs’ possible “Three Peat” products, the money would be allocated to his eponymous charity (Pat Riley Family Foundation), Riley’s trademark lawyer John Aldrich told cllct.
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