Joining the exclusive NFL 2,000-yard rusher club comes with a few perks.
Merch, for example. Intellectual property expert Josh Gerben of Gerben IP posted the following to social media on Sunday:
How did Saquon Barkley celebrate rushing for 2,000 yards?
Making a trip to the trademark office.
On Monday Dec 30th, the day after he hit the 2K mark, Saquon filed two trademarks:
2K SA
2KSA
The filings claim that Saquon will sell "2K SA" branded clothing.#SaquonBarkley pic.twitter.com/PAZEcP7tS8
Links to Barkley's filings--more specifically, filings made by Barkley's LLC--with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can be found for "2K SA" here and "2KSA" here. The filings were made on December 30 and have not yet been assigned to examiners.
If approved, Barkley will have exclusive rights to the phrases for the purposes of athletic apparel, posters, coffee mugs, and more.
On Pattison reached out to Gerben to discuss Barkley's decision.
"The athletes that are the most business savvy are the ones that typically file trademarks around milestones, nicknames and other potentially marketable elements," said Gerben. "It is great to see Saquon acknowledging the significance of the moment with a unique nickname and then filing for legal protection around it. This is textbook strategy from a legal perspective. It will protect Saquon from squatters that might try to profit off his moment and allow him to market it for a lifetime."
Vendors outside the Linc are unlikely to monitor USPTO filings, of course, but the move can at least prevent large and reputable merchandise manufacturers from using 2KSA.
Wearing 2KSA shirt. Definitely wanted to play today!!! #Eagles pic.twitter.com/keNvoeDidj
Rights to 2KSA won't mean much if the nickname doesn't take off. But it very well might: fellow 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson is widely associated with "CJ2K," which likely provided some inspiration for Barkley's new moniker.
Barkley's LLC has filed some interesting trademarks in the past, including "Little Squatty" and "Saquads."