Three-Peat. The term represents one of the biggest feats a player/team can record. It kept being brought up for a significant portion of Michael Jordan’s career- he went on to record two of them. If you don’t know already, it may interest you to find out that none other than Pat Riley issued six trademarks on the term and its variations in the late 1980s! It was done to benefit the team he was coaching. 4 decades later, as another entity is on its way to securing a title, Riley can benefit, again, from his past strategic decision.

Popular internet personality, Joe Pompliano, has highlighted a connection between the Miami Heat president and the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes and Co. have won their last 2 championships and are set to compete for a 3rd, less than 24 hours from now, in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. If it pans out, the Chiefs will be the first time since the 1965-67 Green Bay Packers side to win 3 consecutive championships. Maybe then, the usage of ‘three-peat’ will be regular in the NFL world too?

Therefore, as highlighted by Pompliano, “Pat Riley is expected to make over $1 million if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl.” Well, I think we can guess who Riley will be supporting in the upcoming Super Bowl!

Businessman Bijan Khezri was reportedly the first individual to own the rights to ‘three-peat’. He later assigned the trademark to Pat Riley, where it has remained till this date. Under his coaching, Magic Johnson’s LA Lakers won back-to-back NBA Championships in 1987 and 1988. Therefore, by securing the trademark, Riley ensured that a Lakers win would bring in more benefits than another ring.

The NBA executive would not see benefits early on, as the Lakers lost the 1989 championship to the Detroit Pistons. However, after the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls completed a three-peat in 1993, and another in 1998, Riley reportedly made $300,000 and $600,000 respectively! If things reached that mark in 1998, one could only imagine what could happen now.

“This trademark was granted to Riley and essentially covers everything related to merchandise — hats, shirts, jackets, mugs, backpacks, and more,” Joe Pompliano revealed. The Miami Heat president highlighted during a 2005 ESPN interview that he doesn’t pursue business deals using the trademarks.

Instead, “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.” Therefore, with a 3rd consecutive title coming to the NFL world after decades, who wouldn’t want to avail the opportunity?

Pompliano also dropped: “If we adjust for inflation on the $600,000 Pat Riley earned in 1998, he would be in line to earn another $1.2 million on a Chiefs Super Bowl win.”

Yeah, Pat Riley could certainly use some good news coming his way. After all, the situation with Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat is not looking to end anytime soon. To make things worse, the blame for the ongoing fiasco was also pinned on the franchise president!

Tim Hardaway Blames Pat Riley for Jimmy Butler Acting Up, Amidst Trade Rumors: “Let Him Fly on His Own Private Jet…”

As trade rumors began circulating about Jimmy Butler a few months ago, Pat Riley came out to shut them down. Then, Butler himself added fuel to the fire by stating, “I want my joy back… I want to play with a dominant team” during a presser. They then started looking for a trade for Butler, but not before handing him a suspension. Later, he was handed another 2-game ban after missing a team flight. On Jan 27, the ‘talisman’ was handed an indefinite suspension after walking out of practice…

This string of behavior only highlights that Jimmy Butler is making a bad situation worse. His reputation of falling out with previous employers does him no favors… However, a former Miami Heat player believes the veteran isn’t the only one to be blamed!

During an interview on The Draymond Green Show, Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway touched base. He stated, “That’s Pat’s fault to me. All right, you let him fly on his own private jet to different places, and he’ll meet the team for a shootaround. You let that stuff get out of hand. You let Jimmy Butler come in and say this and that, you know? You let it get out of hand.” Yikes!

If losing a key player wasn’t enough, now the 79-year-old is being blamed for the situation too… Well, we know what will make the day better for him: a Kansas City Chiefs win! Never thought I’d say that line. Therefore, let us wait and see how things pan out.