Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman are battling over copyright issues regarding the number eight. Aikman has taken to social media to suggest a path toward a resolution.
“Hey Lamar,” Aikman posted, “looks like a worthy conversation over a couple cold EIGHT beers! Maybe Steve Young can arbitrate??”
The Steve Young angle works on multiple levels. First, he wore No. 8. Second, he has a law degree.
Aikman and Lamar will get together at least twice this season, for a pair of Monday night games. Fly Steve down to L.A. for the November 25 game between the Ravens and Chargers, and they can hash it out, once and for all.
However it plays out, it’s smart for Aikman to take a lighthearted approach to the situation. If Lamar gives ESPN the cold shoulder prior to the Week 7 and Week 12 games, it becomes harder for Aikman and the rest of the broadcast crew to do their jobs.
Cowboys Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones thinks an 18-game NFL regular season is coming. And he thinks the players will embrace it.
Jones says that adding another game to the regular season looks like a foregone conclusion at this point. Contrary to the many claims that the players would oppose a longer season, Jones believes that when the players see how much additional money would come from an additional game, and how much of that money would go to the players, they’ll be on board.
“I’m on the competition committee. We’ve talked about this knowing that it’s probably inevitable,” Jones said on the Scoop City podcast. “I do know, at the end of the day, the players enjoy the compensation that’s coming their way, and they get, for the most part, half of every revenue dollar that comes through the door. So certainly getting paid well. We all know when we go to 18 games, our revenue’s going to jump, and certainly should only help in terms of money available to pay players and get players the compensation.”
Almost immediately after the NFL began playing 17-game seasons since 2021, talk of moving to 18 games commenced. That talk isn’t going away. The 17-game schedule is just a step on the way to what the NFL really wants, which is an 18-game season.
A Hall of Fame quarterback with three Super Bowl wins and a future Hall of Famer with two NFL MVP trophies are doing battle over a different number.
Eight.
Via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, Troy Aikman and Lamar Jackson are grappling over copyright issues relating to the number they wore on the football field — eight.
Both apparently hold legal protection over some form of the number. Most recently, Jackson opposed Aikman’s attempt to use “EIGHT” on apparel and bags, arguing that it is “likely to cause confusion, or cause mistake, or to deceive” the purchasing public as to whether they’re buying products from Jackson or Aikman.
Jackson’s filing also said he “has expended considerable time, effort, and expense in promoting, advertising, and popularizing the number 8 in connection with his personality and fame” and “is well-known by this number due to his notoriety and fame, along with his promotion of this number in his trademarks and in media coverage.”
Aikman has a beer brand known as “EIGHT.” Jackson sells “Era 8” apparel.
Jackson’s paperwork was submitted on July 9. Aikman’s appeal is due by August 18.
Depending on how things play out, it could make for an awkward production meeting when the Ravens appear on Monday Night Football (where Aikman serves as the analyst) on October 21. And again on November 25.
When Trey Lance was drafted third overall by the 49ers in 2021, the expectation was that he’d be a starting quarterback by the start of his fourth NFL season.
Lance’s career has not unfolded as he would have hoped, however. He backed up Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie before taking over to begin the 2022 season, but his run as a starter ended with a broken ankle and his chances of getting the job back died with Brock Purdy’s instant success as a starter. Lance was traded to the Cowboys before last season and did not play at all once the preseason was over.
While Dak Prescott’s contract hasn’t been sorted out, he’s still entrenched as the starter in Dallas for now and that means Lance has no guarantee of getting on the field this year. Lance is also in the final year of his deal, so the lack of a clear path to playing time might seem like a negative heading into training camp. Lance is taking a different approach, however.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot, so I’m excited to get out there, get some reps and let it rip,” Lance said while working out on his own this summer, via Todd Archer of ESPN.com.
Lance knows he’ll get an opportunity to play in the preseason and that might wind up being his only chance to sell himself this year, so any future NFL plans will rely on his ability to make the most of them.
Longtime NFL wide receiver Randall Cobb did not formally announce his retirement this offseason, but it looks like he is moving on to the next phase of his life.
ESPN announced on Thursday that Cobb will work as a studio analyst for SEC Network during this fall’s college football season. Cobb was a two-time All-SEC player at Kentucky before entering the NFL as a Packers second-round pick in 2011.
“I am incredibly excited to be coming home to the SEC with this new role,” Cobb said in a statement. “The level of greatness this conference provides year after year is unmatched – I cannot wait return to the conference family with this SEC Network crew.”
Cobb spent eight years with the Packers and then returned for two more after stints in Dallas and Houston. He played for the Jets last year. His 532 catches rank fifth in Packers history and he had 630 catches for 7,624 yards and 54 touchdowns for his career.