© David Tucker/News Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK
Baltimore Ravens superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson drew the ire of NASCAR fans everywhere last week when he filed a claim against racing legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. in regards to trademark rights to the No. 8. Jackson, who engaged in a similar suit with Troy Aikman last year, claimed that Earnhardt Jr.’s use of a stylized No. 8 for his JR Motorsports team risked negatively affect trademark claims for his his “You 8 Yet?” restaurant concept and his “Era 8” line of apparel.
Jackson and his legal representation argued that that people would falsely believe there’s a link between the two men. That claim didn’t sit well with NASCAR fans, who not only believed that there was distinct difference, but also that Earnhardt Jr. had a stronger claim to the rights. Ultimately, Earnhardt Jr. backed out of the legal fight and awarded Jackson rights to the trademark, but there’s a catch.
Earnhardt Jr. addressed the suit on the most recent episode of his Dale Jr. Download podcast. He stated that when he first heard about the case, he believed that Jackson was contesting the use of the stylized No. 8 which Earnhardt Jr. ran while racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Instead, Jackson contested the use of the current No. 8 that driver Sammy Smith runs for the JR Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Team.
As it turns out, however, Earnhardt Jr. had already planned to stop using that version of the number.
“We learned that the Budweiser No. 8 trademark is not going to be continued and renewed by (Earnhardt Jr.’s stepmother) Teresa,” he said. “We were a bit surprised by that because she kept the one trademark. Haven’t talked to Teresa. Don’t know why that was her decision, but we saw an opportunity to pick up the number and see if we could get the trademark.”
When Teresa Earnhardt opted not to renew her trademark on No. 8 which Earnhardt Jr. ran in the Cup Series, he opted to file a trademark of his own. He now intends to use that style of the number on his Xfinity Series cars, casting aside the one which Jackson contested.
“The next day, actually, we filed the paperwork to abandon the acquisition of that trademark for the JR Motorsports 8,” he continued. “We got what we wanted, and down the road, I was not gonna argue with Lamar over something that I didn’t plan on using. I wasn’t going to spend thousands of dollars with my lawyers to fight for something I didn’t need.”
In the end, everyone gets their way. And Jackson gets to avoid an ugly fight with an extremely devoted group of fans.