Super Bowl 59 is around the corner, and all eyes are on the Kansas City Chiefs. If they win, they will make history as the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. While Chiefs fans are excited, one person outside the football world also has a lot at stake—Pat Riley, the legendary NBA coach and Miami Heat president.
Pat Riley’s Three-Peat Fortune
The term “three-peat” became popular in 1988 when Riley was coaching the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had won back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988. One of Riley’s players, Byron Scott, used the term to inspire the team to win a third consecutive title. Lakers fans quickly embraced the phrase, and it became widely used.
Seeing its commercial potential, Riley acted fast. In November 1988, he applied for a trademark on the term “three-peat.” His application was approved, and he gained exclusive rights to use the phrase for commercial purposes, such as on merchandise like t-shirts, caps, and banners.
Although the Lakers failed to win a third straight title in 1989, Riley’s investment paid off when the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, won two separate three-peats in the 1990s. Every time merchandise with the phrase “three-peat” was sold, Riley earned money. Reports suggest he made around $600,000 from the Bulls’ championships alone. In 2002, when the Lakers achieved their own three-peat, Riley’s earnings from the trademark crossed $1 million.
In 2014, Riley applied for another trademark—this time for “3-peat” (using the number instead of the word). He did this in anticipation of the Miami Heat winning three consecutive championships. However, the Heat lost, and the trademark was not as profitable as he had hoped.
Now, the Kansas City Chiefs are on the verge of achieving their own three-peat. Since no NFL team has ever done this before, the league had never needed to negotiate with Riley for the trademark rights. But with the Chiefs so close to making history, Riley struck a deal with the NFL. The league agreed to pay him royalties for using “three-peat” on Super Bowl merchandise.
If the Chiefs win, Riley is expected to earn over $1 million from this deal. That would bring his total earnings from the trademark to more than $2 million.
Pat Riley’s story is a great example of how a small business move can lead to big rewards. By securing the “three-peat” trademark early, he ensured that no one else could profit from the phrase without paying him. Now, decades later, he is still making money from a decision he made in 1988. Whether or not the Chiefs win, one thing is clear—Pat Riley is a winner in business.
