‘Sacramento A’s’ trademark belongs to the team. Can fans get merch?
When the Athletics left Oakland, the team stripped the city prefix from its name altogether, announcing that the franchise would be known as simply the “A’s” while playing three seasons in West Sacramento.
But the appetite for merchandise reflecting the team’s new host region has become obvious: Online and brick-and-mortar retailers have begun selling tees and caps with slogans referencing the team’s temporary hometown — a peculiar situation, one legal expert said, which raises questions about trademark law. And locals have begun to don their own artisanal tees.
“I would have snagged one of those in a second,” said Brett Boyle, an associate marketing professor at the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at St. Louis University, who specializes in sports marketing. “It’s going to become a collectors’ item immediately after the team moves to Las Vegas.”
Attendees at a news conference at Sutter Health Park, Thursday, wore T-shirts and lapel pins with the subtler moniker, “Play the West Way.”
As of Friday, the A’s official online store was devoid of Sacramento-related items. But the team said in a statement that its store at Sutter Health Park will offer a selection of Sacramento-themed merchandise.
Despite the awkward scenario, Boyle said, there’s logic in avoiding a temporary brand change. Adopting a new name comes with expenses like graphic design work and fan research, which would recur when the team moves on to Las Vegas.
“Aside from being costly, it creates confusion,” Boyle said. “You want a strong identity. It would be like an actor changing their name.”
Many sellers have adopted Sacramento as the team’s location of reference, rather than West Sacramento, where the stadium is located. The practice is not unprecedented in professional sports: The San Francisco 49ers play in Santa Clara; the Dallas Cowboys play in Arlington, Texas; the New York Jets and New York Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In April 2024, the A’s filed trademark applications for the terms “Sacramento A’s” and “Sacramento Athletics.” The A’s signaled in its statement, though, that West Sacramento apparel may be in the cards.
“We love the idea of West Sacramento merchandise,” the statement said. “The community has welcomed us warmly, and during our time here, we plan to acknowledge them for hosting us.”
To register a trademark, one must have already used the mark in commerce or show a bona fide intent to use it in the future, said Jeffrey Lefstin, a professor of law at the University of California College of Law, San Francisco.
The team said in a statement that the trademark filings will allow it to create special edition items while in Sacramento.
The applications were still under examination, as of Friday, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website. Even without those trademarks, Lefstin said, one can argue that selling third-party Sacramento A’s gear would infringe on the team’s existing trademarks. The key question, he said, would be whether consumers mistakenly believe that the gear is sponsored or approved by the A’s.
That argument becomes more complicated, Lefstin said, by the team’s announcement early last year that it would not include a city in its title while playing in West Sacramento.
“I think, given the very peculiar facts here, that it is an open question,” Lefstin said.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
