Peyton Manning beat the league to the punch. As confirmed by USA Today Sports, the former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback sold his stake in 31 Denver-area Papa John's locations on Feb. 26, just days before Pizza Hut took over the role of official sponsor.

Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning sold his stake in 31 Papa John's franchises in the Denver area on February 26 after six years of ownership. Company spokesperson Peter Collins confirmed the news to USA TODAY.

During the period when Manning was a Papa John's multi-unit franchisee, the NFL also had close ties with Papa John's, forming a partnership that began in 2010, according to Restaurant Business. Through their Papa John's roles, Manning and Schnatter developed a friendly relationship that continued off-camera.

Peyton Manning, the biggest celebrity endorser of Papa John's pizza, is signaling a public split from the brand.

CEO Steve Ritchie said on the company's earnings conference call that the league and the company mutually decided it was in their best interests for Papa John's, which became the official pizza of the league in 2010, to give up the designation. The brand is the first NFL sponsor to leave in the midst of its deal.

John Schnatter was known as “Papa John” after starting the chain in 1984. The company is now distancing itself from the former CEO and dropping the apostrophe in its name. Schnatter responded to the renaming in a statement Tuesday evening, saying, “Try as they may, they can't have Papa Johns without Papa John.”

Papa John's and the NFL ended their league sponsorship deal last week, describing it as a "mutual decision." There had been tension between the two businesses, who first partnered in 2010, after former Papa John's CEO John Schnatter blamed national-anthem protests in the NFL for the pizza chain's declining sales.

Shaq owns nine Papa John's restaurants in and around Atlanta. He has also appeared in Papa John's commercials and other advertising which is part of the criteria he required.

Since then, the third-largest pizza chain has been embroiled in a controversy over a racist comment, claims of extortion and litigation threats - all of which are hammering pizza sales at Papa John's across the country.

In October 2022, Papa Murphy's was sued in a class action lawsuit alleging the company had been secretly wiretapping the private conversations of everyone who had communicated via the company's online chat feature.

Drivers of the growth include the firm's sustained commitment to quality ingredients and its early investment in technology, Slagle said. In 2001, Papa John's became the first pizza chain to offer national online ordering.

The brand's Q1 2023 lapped a quarter when it produced the company's highest sales volume in history. And that comped against Q1 2021, which previously marked the top result since Papa Johns began as an oven inside a broom closet in 1984.