The Eagles are selling Tush Push merch. So why doesn’t any of it actually say ‘Tush Push’?

The Tush Push is here to stay, at least for 2025, after NFL owners failed to get the required 24 votes to ban the play.

Eagles fans and the organization have been celebrating the decision since Wednesday. Just look at the Eagles’ social media accounts. In addition to posting an image with the phrase “Push On” at the top, the team posted a 26-minute Tush Push compilation as soon as the decision came down.

And that was just the beginning.

But the “Push On” graphic the Eagles used to confirm that the play would stick around has become a quick favorite. The team is even releasing a line of “Push On” T-shirts.

The phrase “Tush Push,” however, is conveniently missing from the latest line of merchandise. And there’s a reason for that. The Eagles own the trademark for the phrase Brotherly Shove, but Deanna Slamans of Hummelstown, Pa., near Hershey, filed for the trademark on Tush Push before the team did.

Trademark applications are assessed on a first-come, first-served basis. Since Slamans filed her application a few weeks ahead of the Eagles, her request was reviewed first. According to Sportico, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in May “issued a suspension notice on the Eagles’ application, citing Slamans’ earlier filing as a ‘prior-filed potentially conflicting pending application.’”

» READ MORE: Attempt to ban the Tush Push was a ‘crock,’ says Eagles fan with ‘TSHPUSH’ license plate

The Eagles do have the ability to legally challenge the trademark, but have not yet done so. Sportico reports that USPTO records show that no one, including the Eagles, has formally opposed Slamans’ trademark bid.

Slamans, who sells homemade merchandise on Etsy, said she chose to file for the trademark after learning how many phrases she’d previously thought were mainstream and public domain were actually trademarked. To avoid receiving a cease-and-desist order, she filed for the trademark to ensure she would have the right to sell it. She also owns the domain tushpush.com, where she sells her Tush Push merchandise.

“Part of me owning the trademark is the freedom to use it, not necessarily going after everybody who does it,” Slamans told The Inquirer in December 2023. “ … There are tons and tons of Brotherly Shove T-shirts on Etsy. I’m leaving money on the table not having one, but I also want to honor being an artist and a designer. I want to honor [the Eagles’] desire to have that [trademark], and so I’m not going to go and design a T-shirt with that on it because I want to make sure that I’m also playing fair.”

Once a trademark is granted, the owner can decide whether to restrict other parties from using the phrase. The Eagles heavily crack down on small businesses and local artists who sell Eagles merchandise using the team’s intellectual property.

Slamans said that, if her trademark application is granted, she didn’t plan to restrict others from using the phrase on merchandise. She also said last December that she had reached out to the Eagles about selling the trademark, but so far had not received a response. This week she told Sportico that she doesn’t plan on selling the trademark.

» READ MORE: Marcus Hayes: NFL owners showed disdain for the Eagles and Philly fans, but the Tush Push remains unstoppable

Since it doesn’t appear that Slamans is standing in the way of the Eagles using the phrase, could the Birds be dropping the idea of Tush Push merchandise entirely?

In the past, Eagles players have said they have a different name for their signature quarterback sneak — but refused to share what that was. But they made it clear they’re not fans of its otherwise popular nickname.

“Hate that name,” Jordan Mailata joked on Monday. “Hope they do ban it. Stupid name.”