The United States Patent and Trademark Office has denied an application to trademark the "Washington Commanders" name.

The application was denied for two reasons. The first was due to "likelihood of confusion" with the "Commanders' Classic" -- a yearly college football game between Air Force and Army -- already trademarked. 

The other stems from a pending application by Martin McCaulay, a D.C. area man who filed trademarks trying to guess the new team name.

Washington began its name-change process back in July of 2020 when it decided to retire the "Redskins" nickname, which had been associated with the team since 1933. 

Mark Davis has acknowledged he has "come to an agreement" with Tom Brady for the retired quarterback to join the Las Vegas Raiders' ownership group, pending NFL approval.

"We're excited for Tom to join the Raiders," Davis said, "and it's exciting because he will be just the third player in the history of the National Football League to become an owner."

The other two were George Halas and Jerry Richardson.

Brady also is part of Davis' WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces ownership group, acquiring a stake in March.

The NFL has agreed to a one-year deal with NBC's Peacock to carry a playoff game exclusively on the streaming service this year. The deal is in the range of $110 million.

The Peacock playoff game will be in prime time on Saturday, Jan. 13, which is the first weekend of the NFL playoffs, known as “Wild Card Weekend.”

The markets of the two teams competing will receive the game through a local television station.

A group led by Josh Harris, the co-owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, reached an agreement to buy the Washington Commanders from previous owners Dan and Tanya Snyder, the sides announced Friday.

The group agreed to pay a record $6.05 billion for the team, sources told ESPN. The previous record sale for a franchise had been set in August, when a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion.

Brett Favre says he is no longer suing former NFL player and national sports commentator Pat McAfee for defamation.

"I'm happy that Pat McAfee and I have settled this litigation," Favre tweeted. "Like Pat said, he was attempting to be funny and not commenting based on any personal knowledge. We'd both much rather talk about football."

McAfee said on "The Pat McAfee Show" that Favre is withdrawing the suit against him.

Favre sued McAfee in February over comments he made about Favre's involvement in a sprawling welfare case in Mississippi over millions of dollars in government money that were diverted to the rich and powerful. According to the suit, McAfee called Favre a "thief" who was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi" on "The Pat McAfee Show." The suit also accused McAfee of making similar remarks on Twitter.

Favre still has defamation lawsuits pending against former NFL player Shannon Sharpe and Mississippi Auditor Shad White.

The Kansas City Police Department has arrested two USC journalism students for the theft of more than $1,000 worth of first-round draft pick jerseys, according to a report.

The pair worked for the student-run multiplatform news outlet known as Annenberg Media, which operates under the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The NFL reported a San Francisco 49ers jersey, a Dallas Cowboys jersey and a Minnesota Vikings jersey missing. All had the number 1 printed on the back but with no player names.

Police recovered the Cowboys and 49ers jerseys in a search of the students' baggage after arresting them as they boarded a plane back to Los Angeles.

The final step to moving forward with construction on the Buffalo Bills' new stadium was taken Thursday when the 11-member Erie County Legislature unanimously approved the deal for a 30-year lease.

The new stadium is scheduled to open in 2026 with major construction slated to begin in June.

"We want to thank Governor [Kathy] Hochul, the County Executive and all of our public partners for bringing this process to a successful conclusion," Bills executive vice president & COO Ron Raccuia said in a statement.

"All of the legal agreements and public-private partnerships with the county and the state are signed. There are no more documents. All the focus is now on construction and the opening of the stadium, which will start immediately."

The vote came exactly one month after the Bills, New York state and Erie County signed all the documents for the project. 

Henry Ruggs III unconditionally waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday and will plead guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a 2021 case in which he's accused of killing a woman in a car crash.

The former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver will serve three to 10 years in Nevada state prison. The case now moves to the 8th Judicial District Court for a hearing on May 10, when he is expected to formally plead guilty.

Ruggs attended the hearing Tuesday and, when asked whether he understood the proceedings, replied, "Yes, your honor."