The professional American football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is based in Tampa, Florida. Often referred to as the “Buccaneers”, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division.
Established in 1974, the Buccaneers joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team alongside the Seattle Seahawks. However, prior to the 1977 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers switched divisions and conferences with Seattle to become a member of the NFC Central division.
Playing their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, the Buccaneers were seen as a perennial losing club for most of their first twenty years. They had 26 consecutive losses in their first two seasons and 14 consecutive losing seasons from 1983 to 1996. However, despite these early losses, they managed to build some accolades – becoming the first post-merger expansion team to clinch a division title, win a playoff game, and host a conference championship.
Their reputation had improved by 2002 when they played their first championship. They have since won the Super Bowl championships twice (2002 and 2020) and are one of only two NFL franchises undefeated in multiple Super Bowl appearances (alongside the Baltimore Ravens). However, despite their Super Bowl wins, the Buccaneers hold the NFL’s lowest winning percentage at .404. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are owned by real estate magnates – the Glazer family.
Famous Tampa Bay Buccaneers Trademarks
Despite the Buccaneers’ reputation for the NFL’s lowest winning percentage, they hold a large number of trademarks – clearly recognizing the importance of trademarking against their brand. Before the Glazer family took ownership of the Buccaneers, it was owned by Hugh Culverhouse, whose death in 1994 revealed that he was close to bankruptcy.
His son sued his father’s associates, and when Malcolm Glazer bought the team, he immediately placed his three sons in charge of the team’s finances. Perhaps it was due to their turbulent finances that they realized why it was necessary to trademark their team’s assets. Let’s take a look at some of the most recognized trademarks registered by Buccaneers Team LLC.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers team name was first trademarked in 1978 after its first use in 1975. At first, it was only registered for “entertainment services in the form of professional football games and exhibitions”. However, the trademark for this wordmark has been updated several times, with the most recent being in 2006, and now applies to:
- Handbags, luggage, duffel bags, all-purpose sports bags, school bags, backpacks, umbrellas, and luggage tags
- Football helmets, cell phone covers, decorative magnets
- Compact discs, audio tapes, pre-recorded videotapes, and DVDs all featuring the sport of football, computer game software, disks, and video game cartridges
- Jewelry, watches, precious metal money clips, tie pins, non-monetary/commemorative coins of precious metal, and key chains made of precious metal
- Toys and sporting goods, namely, plush toys, play figures, sporting goods, board games relating to football, Christmas tree ornaments, and toy model cars
- Trading cards, posters, magazines relating to football, postcards, calendars, wrapping paper, paper stickers, series of nonfiction books relating to football, poster books, notepads, paper party hats, and greeting cards
- Men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and footwear; namely, caps, wool hats, headbands, belts, wristbands, T-shirts, tank tops, pajamas, sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets, bibs, jerseys, robes, raincoats, sneakers, gloves, scarves, underwear, and bathing suits
The “Buccaneers”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are more colloquially known as the “Buccaneers”. This abbreviation was first used in 1975 and trademarked in 1977. This was then updated in 2006. The organization clearly recognized the importance of trademarking the nickname, and its trademark applies to:
- Entertainment services in the form of professional games and exhibitions
- Men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, namely, fleece tops and bottoms, headwear, T-shirts, tank tops, pajamas, sweaters, jackets, jerseys, nightshirts, coats, robes, pants, socks and underwear
- Toys and sporting goods, namely, plush toys, play figures, sporting goods, board games relating to football, Christmas tree ornaments, and toy model cars
The “Bucs”
As well as being nicknamed the “Buccaneers”, the team is also sometimes known as the “Bucs”. This is a relatively new application – filed in 2021 by the Buccaneers Team LLC and is still pending. If approved, the service mark will apply to:
- Education and entertainment services in the nature of professional football games and exhibitions; football fan club services; entertainment services, namely, musical and dance performances provided during intervals at sports events; educational services, namely, physical education programs; production of radio and television programs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had several logo changes over the years, with their primary logo changing five times. However, most changes have been relatively minor.
The original logo was registered in 1977 and is the most unique – it was worn by the team for the first twenty years and both its design and color are quite different from what the team has worn since. It featured a pirate wearing a tricorn hat with a feather in it, he is winking with a dagger in his mouth. His face is orange with everything else being red. Since 1997 the Buccanneers logo has been a version of a pirate flag with a skull and swords crisscrossing on either side of it. A football sits at the base of the crossing swords.
This new logo was registered in 1997 and applies to:
- Men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, namely, fleece tops and bottoms, caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, pants, jackets, jerseys, swimwear, parkas, sleepwear, gloves, scarves, and footwear
- Posters, calendars, trading cards, books and magazines relating to football, notepads, stickers, bumper stickers, pens and pencils, and greeting cards
- Entertainment services, namely, professional football games and exhibitions
- Football helmets, cell phone covers, decorative magnets, compact discs, audio tapes, pre-recorded videotapes, and DVDs all featuring the sport of football, and computer game software
- Jewelry, watches, precious metal money clips, tie pins, non-monetary/commemorative coins of precious metal, and key chains made of precious metal
- Handbags, luggage, duffel bags, all-purpose sports bags, school bags, backpacks, umbrellas, and luggage tags
- Marketing services, namely, promoting the goods and services of others
Read more: Trademarking a logo, step by step
“Raise the Flags”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers launched a social media campaign in 2021 called “Raise the Flag”, (alluding to their logo) which saw legendary Bucs players making their own videos and challenging others to join them to “raise the flag” as a way to show their support prior to the Buccaneers’ wild-card game against Washington. The Buccaneers Team LLC applied to trademark this slogan in July 2021 and if approved will apply to:
- Education and entertainment services in the nature of professional football games and exhibitions; providing sports and entertainment information, arranging and conducting athletic competitions, namely, professional football games and exhibitions; conducting physical education programs; organization of football sporting and cultural activities
- Towels, cloth flags, and pennants made of textile
- Shirts and sweatshirts
Wrapping up
Though they’ve won two Super Bowls, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t have a stellar reputation when it comes to their success, though they’ve looked more promising in recent years. Despite this, they’ve done well to register over 30 trademarks for their team, including their team name and nicknames, logos, and team slogans.
As their logo has changed over the years and they’ve developed new slogans thanks to recent social media campaigns, it will really help their brand that they’ve protected these assets. Indeed, this has already proven successful as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an estimated franchise value of around $3.68 billion.
