NFL Accused of Infringing Trademarks on Gold Jackets Since 1989

The National Football League has been infringing a late former alumni organization CEO’s trademarks on gold Hall of Fame blazers and a shield logo for 36 years, a Florida federal lawsuit claims.

Heirs of former NFL Alumni Inc. head Victor Maitland accused the NFL, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his former organization of systematically erasing his legacy, according to a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Maitland personally designed and launched the jacket and shield trademarks into commerce in 1977, and the defendants have used it without permission since he left NFL Alumni in 1989, his estate’s Wednesday filing said.

The complaint raises questions regarding the ownership of the claimed trademarks and trade dress as well as the timeliness of the claims. Trademark rights aren’t conferred to creators but to the entity that first uses them in commerce, and the equitable doctrine of laches typically bars prejudicial delay in enforcing trademark rights for a term that generally doesn’t exceed five years.

Maitland transformed NFL Alumni into a charitable nonprofit in 1978, the same year the sport’s inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame first wore the gold jackets with a shield resembling the NFL’s logo, the complaint said. Upon the league commissioner’s request Maitland revised the alumni logo by putting the NFL on top and alumni underneath against a black background.

After Maitland left NFL Alumni, the gold jacket logo was revised to have “Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee” under “NFL Alumni,” and was again updated in 2011 when the Hall of Fame’s logo replaced “NFL Alumni.” Maitland died in 2019.

The lawsuit, brought by his children Kathy Lassen and James Maitland—who represent Maitland’s estate—characterized the logo changes as part of a scheme to “erase the NFL history and legacy” created by their father and “an effort to wrongfully profit from their copied and mimicked versions of the marks.”

The suit names the NFL, NFL Properties LLC, NFL Alumni, National Football Museum Inc.—which operates as the Pro Football Hall of Fame—and the jackets’ manufacturer Haggar Clothing Co.

The NFL, NFL Alumni, and Hall of Fame didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Chusid Katz & Sposato LLP represents the estate.

The case is Lassen et al v. NFL Properties LLC, S.D. Fla., No. 9:25-cv-80981, Complaint 8/6/25.