Papa John's CEO Announces Final Decision on NFL Sponsorship
It’s an image that we can’t un-see, no matter how hard we try.
Peyton Manning, capping off his hall of fame career by beating Carolina in Super Bowl 50.
With confetti flying, Manning reaches out and kisses … Papa John’s founder, John Schnatter, on the cheek.
Manning, of course, is now retired, and Schnatter has left the company.
Now it looks like nobody with the NFL will ever be kissing anyone from Papa John’s, after the pizza company announced that it is no longer a sponsor of the league.
On an earnings conference call, CEO Steve Ritchie announced the Papa John’s is no longer the official pizza of the league after a seven-year run.
Ritchie says the decision was mutual.
“The NFL and Papa John’s have made a mutual decision to shift from their official league sponsorship to a focus on partnerships with 22 local NFL teams, presence in broadcast and digital media, and key personalities in the sport,” the league and company said in a joint statement.
The precursor to this happened nearly four months ago, in the heat of the national anthem protests. Schnatter, who was still the CEO, said players kneeling hurt his business and pulled the official NFL shield off its commercials and pizza boxes.
“We are disappointed the NFL and its leadership did not resolve this,” Schnatter explained at the time.
Papa John’s stock price dropped 12 percent in less than two weeks, and the founder apologized.
For several years, the NFL was considered to have the Midas touch for advertisers, but Papa John’s is the first sponsor to pull out in the middle of a deal.
Between protests, domestic violence and concussions, the NFL has certainly had its share of negative publicity, raising the possibility that other advertisers could follow suit.
Papa John’s fourth quarter earnings were down nearly 4 percent year-to-year.
No word yet on how Peyton feels about the NFL kissing Papa John’s goodbye.
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