LeBron James has filed to trademark the phrase "Nothing is given. Everything is earned."

The Cleveland Cavaliers forward filed for the phrase, which he first used in the 2014 Sports Illustrated article that announced his return to Cleveland, with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office earlier this month.

"In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given," LeBron told SI's Lee Jenkins at the time before leaving Miami to return to his home state. "Everything is earned. You work for what you have."

The filings are connected to James' I Promise School, a partnership between James and Akron public schools to build an elementary school beginning in the fall of 2018.

Aside from the intended purpose of using the phrase surrounding the school, the filing also seeks ownership of the phrase on T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps.

The organization of record for the filing is LBJ Trademarks, which also owns the phrase "Just A Kid From Akron."