February 2, 2026
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
Photo by Abbie Lankitus
The Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest game in sports, it’s also a major driver of commercial sales. Yet many retailers avoid saying its name at all.
With “Super Bowl” tightly protected as a trademark, brands must find creative ways to capture the excitement without crossing legal boundaries. To understand how these constraints shape retail strategy — from in-store promotions to digital marketing — we spoke with Courtney Cothren, an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business.
Cothren, whose professional experience includes retail consulting, explains below what the Super Bowl trademark means for retailers, consumers and brand strategy.
How does the Super Bowl trademark influence retailers’ game-day strategies?
Cothren: The Super Bowl is one of the most commercially significant moments of the year for retailers. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers spend about $90 per person on food, beverages, apparel and décor tied to the event. That level of demand shapes promotional calendars, product assortments and inventory flow weeks in advance.
However, because “Super Bowl” is a protected NFL trademark, retailers must carefully design promotions to avoid unauthorized usage. One way they navigate this is by highlighting products from official NFL sponsor brands, such as PepsiCo, whose approved marketing materials may legally reference the event.
What behind-the-scenes challenges exist that shoppers may not recognize?
Cothren: Trademark compliance is one of the least visible but most consequential challenges. Retailers that are not official partners cannot use terms like “Super Bowl” or NFL logos in advertising. This forces marketing teams to rely on alternative language or visual cues to communicate relevance without violating trademark rules. The complexity is largely invisible to shoppers, but it requires coordination between legal, marketing and merchandising teams.
Where do retailers face the greatest legal exposure in Super Bowl-related promotions?
Cothren: In-store signage, window displays and point-of-sale materials present the highest risk. Even unintentional misuse of protected names or imagery can trigger cease-and-desist notices from the NFL. Because physical signage is highly visible and harder to change quickly, retailers must closely monitor creative execution at every location.
How should retailers manage Super Bowl-related messaging across physical and digital channels?
Cothren: Execution must be unified across in-store, e-commerce, email and social media. Shoppers often move between channels during the same purchase journey, such as seeing a promotion online, checking availability on an app and completing the purchase in-store or via delivery. Inconsistent messaging, pricing or product availability can break that experience and dilute the promotion’s impact.
How can retailers signal Super Bowl relevance without using protected language?
Cothren: Visual merchandising does most of the work. Retailers rely on strategic product groupings — snacks, beverages, paper goods and party essentials — placed in prominent locations such as entrances or endcaps. These cues immediately communicate “game day” without relying on words, prompting impulse purchases and simplifying planning for shoppers.
Do consumers notice the absence of the term “Super Bowl,” and does it affect buying behavior?
Cothren: For most shoppers, wording is far less important than convenience and value. Promotions that make it easy to prepare for a gathering — through clear displays, strong pricing and logical assortments — drive purchasing decisions. The specific language used rarely influences outcomes. As the primary shopper in my household, with a professional background in buying and teaching retail and consumer behavior, I don’t register when “Super Bowl” is omitted from store promotions.
What broader lessons does the Super Bowl offer for other major events like the Olympics or World Cup?
Cothren: High-profile events often combine strict trademark enforcement with massive consumer interest. Retailers succeed by focusing on timing, shopper needs and merchandising excellence rather than protected terminology. Whether the event is domestic or global, thoughtful execution matters far more than naming rights.
