The National Football League filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office last week in an effort to obtain exclusive rights to the Duluth Eskimos, a defunct franchise that operated during the 1926 and 1927 seasons.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben provided analysis of the filing, though he later noted the NFL released a statement noting no team will use the name during the 2019 campaign as he initially suggested:
Josh GerbenThe NFL has filed a trademark application for DULUTH ESKIMOS. The trademark application suggests that a NFL team could play a game as the DULUTH ESKIMOS this coming year.