A general view of a Buffalo Bills helmet. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Bills reportedly trying to trademark 'Bills Mafia'

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/7/22

The term "Bills Mafia" originated organically as a way to reference diehard fans of the Buffalo Bills and has been embraced by media outlets and the club in recent years:

Burn it all. #BillsMafia @VonMiller | @Zippo pic.twitter.com/zMKtEciGVo
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 7, 2022

It appears the franchise does not want anybody else to be able to profit off of that phrase moving forward.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Sports Business Journal is reporting that the Bills are trying to land federal trademark protection for the "Bills Mafia" term. The club wishes to sell a variety of merchandise featuring the phrase and clearly is also attempting to stop others from dealing items that showcase the term.

Attorney Josh Gerben tweeted in October 2020 that the Bills filed a trademark application for "Bills Mafia" at that time:

The Buffalo Bills have filed a trademark application for BILLS MAFIA.

The application, just filed on October 12th, claims that the team is the owner of the trademark and intends to sell BILLS MAFIA branded clothing.#BillsMafia #BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/b6CveEpghz
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) October 16, 2020

.@DelReid has indicated the Buffalo Bills reached out to him and "understand that Bills Mafia is a community of fans, not just a clever brand." Not exactly sure what that means, but clearly the parties involved have an open line of communication.
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) October 16, 2020

Florio notes that the franchise is more likely to receive the trademark over any fans because it already owns the "Bills" part of the phrase. As for the timing, it makes sense the Bills would want to strike now considering expectations for them are as high as they've been in roughly 30 years.

Just last week, NFL Media experts voted Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen as the favorite to earn Most Valuable Player honors this season and later named the Bills as their top pick to win Super Bowl LVII, which would be a first for the long-suffering club.

Making some cash off of official "Bills Mafia" championship memorabilia would be a nice way for the team to commemorate such an occasion.

More must-reads: