The Kansas City Chiefs have an opportunity to etch their names into the annals of NFL history at Super Bowl LIX if they are able to win their third title in a row.

Victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans on February 9 would make the Chiefs the first team to win three successive Super Bowl rings, cementing the golden era of the franchise.

Winning three championships in a row is colloquially known as a “three-peat,” and if Kansas City decides to use that term to celebrate the moment, an NBA legend could earn quite a significant pay day.

Pat Riley – the former Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat head coach – has several trademarks involving the term “three-peat,” according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website.

The nine-time NBA champion’s business, Riles & Company, Inc., holds trademarks on the phrases “three-peat,” “3 peat” and “threepeat,” among others.

The 79-year-old, who is currently the president of the Heat, came up with the idea during his time as Lakers head coach in the 1980s, shortly after the team won their second title in as many years, per ESPN.

Although the Showtime Lakers failed to complete the three-peat, Riley’s trademarks were in place for when the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls won their third title in a row in 1993.

The origin of the phrase has been disputed, with the common story that Lakers guard Byron Scott used the term “twee-peat,” which Riley tweaked. However, Scott’s teammate, Wes Matthews, said that he was behind it.

“I just thought of it as a catchy slogan,” Matthews told ESPN in 2014. “I give Pat a ton of credit for having the vision to do what he did. I bet he made out real well when the Bulls did it.”

Owners of trademarks – which protect things like brand names, logos and slogans that identify sources of goods – can claim infringement if other branding would cause consumer confusion. Remedies range from monetary damages to blocking use.

It means that, should the Chiefs win and decide to use the phrase when celebrating, Riley could be set to benefit financially.

Trademarking the term is like “going out there and picking up a penny on the ground,” Riley told ESPN in 2005.

“It’s sort of been an interesting phenomenon. I found out that if I were ever an entrepreneurial man, I could have made some (money) in my life.”

The legendary coach and executive added: “I don’t pay any attention to it. If somebody wants to license that phrase, we’ll license it to them. But I don’t go out and pursue it. We don’t sell it; we don’t browbeat anybody. If they want it, they go to somebody and they’ll pay us a royalty on it.”

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