LSU's Angel Reese sees 'Bayou Barbie' trademark filing denied

Angel Reese has become one of the most marketable names in college sports.

The LSU star will not be selling merchandise with the “Bayou Barbie” motto, though. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denied her request for the trademark in November.

Reese’s camp has now decided to abandon the attempt, missing the 90-day deadline to submit arguments supporting her case. Because of the decision not to file arguments, the case has been deemed “dead.”

In the filing from the USPTO denying the trademark in November, the office cited a likelihood of confusion as a reason to deny the filing. The toy company Mattel owns the trademark to Barbie.

“We discussed internally and determined that it was in Angel’s best interest to not unnecessarily instigate Mattel,” said IP and NIL attorney Darren Heitner, who filed the trademark paperwork on Reese’s behalf. “While initially it seemed worthy to obtain the registration, Angel has pivoted away from selling Bayou Barbie merchandise. As such, the appropriate business decision was made to simply let the application abandon.”

The origin of the “Bayou Barbie” nickname came from her style of play and that she is at LSU. Another part: Reese favors eyelash extensions and long pink nails. Because the NCAA allows athletes to leverage their name, image and likeness, Reese would have been able to monetize the trademark.

“She loves the color pink,” Reese’s agent Jeanine Ogbonnaya previously told On3. “She’s always getting her hair and nails done for games. So that definitely plays a big part into it.”

Angel Reese cashing in on NIL

While Angel Reese is moving on, she’s capitalized on plenty of other opportunities. A first-team All-American last season, she averaged a double-double with 23 points and 15.4 rebounds en route to leading LSU to its first national championship in program history. The on-court successes have led to her reaching celebrity status, with a social media following that has soared to more than 5.2 million.

Working with Ogbonnaya, Reese has become an NIL star. She’s signed on as an ambassador for the multicultural hair care brand Mielle Organics. When she went to the White House with her LSU team last May, she didn’t just wear a black dress. No, Reese sported a look curated just for her by the FashionNova brand. Starring in this past year’s SI Swimsuit edition gave her one of the most sought-after modeling gigs in the industry.

And the junior forward announced a multi-year partnership with Reebok back in October. As part of her agreement with Reebok, she has a curated portal of products on Reebok.com, named “Angel’s Picks.” On top of her own dedicated portion of the online store, Reese and Reebok are partnering on her own capsule collection for fall/winter 2024. She will also provide input and feedback on design and product ahead of Reebok’s basketball re-launch.

When will Angel Reese go pro?

A preseason All-American entering this season, she’s currently averaging 19.2 points and 12.5 rebounds. The No. 13 Tigers are 22-4 with a 9-3 mark in the SEC and are currently predicted to be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

With two years of eligibility remaining, the No. 2 recruit in the 2020 class and former Maryland transfer could decide to go to the WNBA after this year. That will not be an automatic decision, especially with this Reebok agreement. Reese has a significantly larger social media following than the average WNBA player. The average contract in 2022 in the league was $102,751, just a share of what the college basketball star is making now because of NIL. 

Her On3 NIL Valuation now is $1.7 million, which is the top-ranked women’s basketball NIL valuation. Reese ranks No. 7 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.