New Name, Same Team: The Intellectual Property Realities of Changing a Professional Sports Team Name

In light of recent social justice movements, sports team nicknames have been placed under a larger microscope than possibly any time before now. Discussions surrounding team names have recently prompted at least two professional organizations—the Washington Football Team and Cleveland Guardians—to move away from racially-insensitive names. These franchises were not the first sports entities to change their name and they will certainly not be the last. This Essay seeks to provide a short guide of the legal considerations for changing a team’s name.

Part I of this Essay discusses past and ongoing franchise name changes in professional sports. Part II addresses the intellectual property considerations franchises must consider when changing their name, and Part III explains how a franchise can make the appropriate corporate changes to finalize name changes with its Secretary of State (or other applicable body).