Even if the Kansas City Chiefs do win their third straight Super Bowl with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9, the AFC Champions may still struggle to claim a 'three-peat,' 'three peat,' or even a '3-peat.'. That's because NBA icon Pat Riley's company has spent nearly 40 years trademarking variations on the phrase despite the fact that he's never won three consecutive champions as a player, coach or executive.
![[Kansas City Chiefs players huddle during the team's on Friday in Kansas City]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/20/94654567-14305089-image-a-15_1738183911197.jpg)
Riley first got the notion to trademark 'THREE-PEAT' in November of 1988 as his Los Angeles Lakers were in pursuit of their third consecutive Larry O'Brien Trophy. Unfortunately for Riley, that application would not be approved until August of 1989, by which point the Lakers had already been swept by the upstart Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.
![[Riles & Company have several active and inactive trademarks for varieties of 'threepeat']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/21/94654687-14305089-Riles_Company_have_several_active_and_inactive_trademarks_for_va-m-19_1738184639219.jpg)
Undeterred, his Riles & Company, Inc. continued to register different versions of the phrase, even as his rival and fellow 1967 draftee Phil Jackson coached his way to two three-peats with the Chicago Bulls and another with the Lakers. These days, Riles & Co. controls trademarks for 'three-peat,' 'threepeat,' '3 peat,' and 'three peat' in a variety of fonts. But that doesn't mean the Chiefs are forbidden entirely from using the phrase. Instead, they could pay royalties to Riley's company to use variations of 'three-peat' on anything from shirts or jackets to hats and other items.
