Tom Brady's lawyers applied in March for a slew of trademarks after the seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his brief retirement from the NFL.
While Brady changed his mind a month later, returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the applications remain pending and shed light on how Brady's team is thinking about his post-football career.
They're part of a robust trademark and brand strategy.
Brady has 130 active trademarks, compared to LeBron James' 101 and the handful that other star athletes like Peyton Manning have, according to an analysis by Gerben Law Firm. Those numbers include active trademarks tied to the athletes' names, as well as their businesses like Brady's TB12 and James' SpringHill Entertainment.
"He has more trademarks registered than some public companies," said Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Law Firm, of Brady. "You can see where his brand strategy is a lot more evolved than the average one."
Brady's trademarks speak to his range of business interests, from health and wellness products to digital collectibles and NFT marketplaces.
They cover footballs, protein bars and supplements, digital tokens, cookbooks, fitness apps, sports drinks, celebrity appearances, and much more. Brady, who's experimented with meal kits through his company TB12, has filed for rights to his name in restaurants, bars, and food-delivery services. He also has a swath of trademark applications for consumer goods, like eyewear, clothing, skincare, bags, and water bottles. And, fittingly, for rights to sports merchandise and memorabilia, like posters, trading cards, jerseys, and footballs.
But there are surprises, too. A Brady-scented candle, anyone? How about bed sheets?
Of course, trademark lawyers often file applications to cover their bases, and doing so doesn't necessarily mean a Brady candle line is coming any time soon.
"It's very common that once you reach a certain level and you say, 'I can do more than just act,' or 'I can do more than just throw a football' ... then you start to think about, 'How do I protect myself in that environment?'" Gerben said.
Many of these applications are also pending, and there's no guarantee they'll ever be registered. The US Patent and Trademark Office denied in 2019 Brady's attempt to trademark the name "Terrific Tom," which was the moniker for Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.
Still, Brady's team applied for trademarks earlier in the athlete's career that have tied into actual products, including filing for the rights to his nickname "Tompa Bay" on t-shirts, which TB12 has sold.
Here's a breakdown of the pending trademark applications for Brady's personal brand (condensed and categorized by Insider):