A few days ago, an unusual controversy emerged between two sports stars. On one side is Lamar Jackson, the star quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens and two-time NFL MVP. On the other is legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. The dispute that put them at odds revolved around a curious case of commercial rights.
The misunderstanding arose when the rights to the iconic italicized number 8, which Earnhardt used during his racing career, expired. As a result, he and his team sought to acquire the trademark. While waiting for the official deadline, they designed and applied for a different version of the number 8 for their Junior Motorsports team, which led to a confrontation with Jackson.
The Ravens superstar opposed the trademark request, believing it could affect his own personal brand. However, after the controversy gained attention, Earnhardt Jr. clarified the misunderstanding regarding quarterback Jackson and his personal branding.
What did Earnhardt Jr. have to say about the controversy with Jackson?
“I learned on social media about the same time as everybody else did that Lamar was contesting our trademark application. He wasn’t suing me. He’s just contesting it. And there’s a part of the trademark process where if you believe somebody’s applying for a trademark and it’s going to hurt your brand, you can oppose it and say ‘I need this’. I learned that it was the Junior Motorsports eight and we weren’t ever going to use that again… so yeah, it’s a non-issue,” Earnhardt Jr. explained on his podcast.
“We saw an opportunity to pick up the No. 8 trademark and see if we can get the trademark. Without the trademark, we can run the number. Anyone can. Did we have a trademark for the current No. 8 Junior Motorsports number that we’ve been running since 2019? No, there was no trademark for that number. So we field for the Bud eight trademark. We have succeeded in that process, and as a backup plan, we filed for the trademark on the Junior Motorsports eight,” he said.
No big deal between Jackson and Earnhardt Jr.
With the misunderstanding resolved, the dispute over the rights to the 8 comes to an end. The number has been a personal trademark for Jackson, who has worn it since his college days in 2015 with the Louisville Cardinals. The number holds deep meaning for both parties, but they’ve now settled their differences and maintain a good relationship.