Caleb Williams spent the 2025 season earning a nickname the hard way: late drives, late throws and enough fourth-quarter calm to help the Bears win their first playoff game in 15 years. Now that same nickname is headed to a different kind of competition, the kind fought in paperwork, not the pocket.

Williams has filed multiple trademark applications tied to “Iceman,” and Basketball Hall of Famer George Gervin, the original “Iceman” to most sports fans, has responded by filing his own applications and preparing to challenge Williams if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office moves Williams’ filing forward.

Gervin told ESPN he was surprised when he learned Williams had tried to secure trademark rights to the name.

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Gervin’s feelings on the matter were more direct than the legal process will be.

“I’ve been the Iceman for 40-something years,” Gervin said. “I never thought anybody would try to trademark it. He kind of knocked me out the box.”

What was filed, and when
According to the trademark filings referenced in the report, Caleb Williams Holding Inc. filed four trademark applications with the USPTO on March 16 related to the “Iceman” nickname. The goods and services listed in the filings include athletic sporting goods and equipment, water bottles, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys, hats, eyewear, and downloadable posters and digital trading cards.

Four days later, on March 20, Gervin Interests LLC filed two trademark applications: one for “Iceman” and another for “Iceman 44,” a reference to the jersey number Gervin wore throughout his NBA career. The San Antonio Spurs retired Gervin’s No. 44 in 1987.

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How this could play out
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben IP told ESPN that a key question is how trademark rights are viewed: Gervin can argue he used “Iceman” long before Williams, even if Williams filed first.

But filing first can matter.

The USPTO could accept Williams’ application and refuse Gervin’s, according to the same explanation. A decision is expected to take months.

If Williams’ application is accepted, Gerben said Gervin would have a 30-day window to formally oppose the registration.

“George will have a 30-day period in which he can file a formal opposition to Caleb’s applications and say they shouldn’t be registered because I was using these trademarks long ago and the public associates the name with me.”

Gervin Global Management president and CEO Jerald Barisano said they plan to oppose Williams’ application if the USPTO approves Williams and not Gervin. Barisano also said legal action remains on the table.

“We’re not happy and we’ll let it play out, but we’re not running away from this guy,” Barisano said. “We’re going to fight him tooth and nail to the end.”

The extra complication: another “Iceman” is already in the system
There is a third name in this file: UFC legend Chuck Liddell. Gerben said Liddell filed for a trademark in 2023 for “Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell,” and the USPTO could decide that mark is similar to both Williams’ and Gervin’s.

“The USPTO could easily, easily refuse Caleb Williams’ application and George Gervin’s application,” Gerben said. “Because of Chuck’s pending applications waiting there first.”

The Spurs jumped in too
Gervin’s side also got public backing from his old franchise. The Spurs posted support for Gervin on X, sharing a graphic of him seated on a throne of ice blocks with the caption “there’s only one Iceman.”

Gervin says he wants to talk it out
Gervin said he has not spoken with Williams or Williams’ marketing team, but he wants the chance to work something out.

“I’m quite sure me and him going to get a chance to talk,” Gervin said. “I can kind of bet on that. We’re both men. I’m an older man. He’s a younger man. Me doing a little research on him, what I found out about him, he respects older athletes.

“I hate it the most because, man, he’s a special young guy getting ready to come up. His potential is great and he does have ice in his veins. But that name is already taken up.”

Messages left with Williams’ marketing team and trademark attorneys were not immediately returned, according to the report.

For now, the “Iceman” fight isn’t happening on a field or a court. It’s happening in filings, deadlines, and a months-long wait for the USPTO to decide who gets the first real advantage — and who has to escalate it.

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