Caleb Williams wasn’t initially the biggest fan of the “Iceman” nickname bestowed upon him, but after warming to it, the Chicago Bears quarterback moved to protect his business interests and public image by trademarking the pseudonym. It was never about taking the nickname from basketball great George Gervin, Williams said after the nine-time NBA All-Star attempted to block the application with one of his own.

Gervin adopted the “Iceman” nickname during his NBA career in the 1970s and ’80s. Williams embraced it last season after his late-game heroics — most notably a miracle touchdown pass in the NFL playoffs — showed he has “ice in his veins.”

“It’s all respect to George,” Williams told Front Office Sports. “I didn’t know [he had the nickname], and I understand maybe what he’s trying to do. We haven’t talked, him and I, and we may talk at some point. But it was nothing between George and I. Like I said, I didn’t know.”

Williams filed four trademark applications that, if approved, would protect the nickname, a logo and two silhouettes of the touchdown pass. They would grant him exclusive rights to that intellectual property for commercial use and prevent others from using his likeness for profit without authorization.

Gervin’s business managers said they wrongly believed he already held an “Iceman” trademark. Once Williams’ application came to light, they contacted the United States Patent and Trademark Office to seek protection for “Iceman” and “Iceman 44.”

“It’s more or less people making clothing or things like that,” Williams said. “I can’t control what people are making of me or anything like that and putting a name on it. It’s just to control that aspect of it. That was the main reason for doing it.”

Nothing prevents Williams from embracing and using the nickname even if Gervin is eventually granted the trademark; he would only be prohibited from profiting off its use for goods and services.

Williams could also move away from the moniker and launch a different brand. But even he acknowledged that the best nicknames develop organically.

“At first, I didn’t, per se, like the nickname,” Williams said. “I thought there were cooler nicknames. And then it all kind of came together. My teammates gave me the nickname. My teammates started calling me it around the facility and things like that. I just kind of let it fester and become what it is now. I’ve actually earned a liking of the name.”