re: Manziel files lawsuit citing copyright infringement of name Johnny Football

Replica jerseys without the names are irrelevant to the discussion. As you said, the schools have the license--something the athlete and family understand from the outset.

But here, we're talking about products that aren't licensed by TAMU. No other player generates the type of demand for his likeness that Johnny does. That's kind of why he's the only one consistently dealing with bootleggers.

If another player was equally exciting with an equally perfect nickname, he'd be doing the exact same thing. But there's never been another. Ever.

Sure, other really good players had nicknames, but there's never been a player whose moniker was as ubiquitously used as Johnny Football. There is no precedent here. The closest we have is Honey Badger, who, with LSU, threatened legal action. But his brand vanished almost overnight, and it was never as strong as Johnny's.