Papa John's is no longer the official pizza of the NFL. 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.

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.

The change happened after John Schnatter, the company's founder and former CEO, stirred up controversy when he claimed his company's sales were hurt by the way the NFL handled pro football players' protests for social justice. Pizza Hut took over at that time, only to get picked off by Little Caesars this year.

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.

Papa John's founder resigns amid backlash after admitting he used the N-word. He later famously said he “had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days,” criticizing the quality of the pies following his ouster.

On Tuesday, Little Caesars announced that it had reached an agreement with the NFL to become the official pizza sponsor of the league. The move supplants Pizza Hut as the NFL's official pizza partner, which had been the case since 2018.

Amazon's 'TNF' gets new slate of advertisers, sponsorships in year two of NFL deal. , Mercedes-Benz USA and Carnival Cruise Line held sponsorships. DraftKings and Carnival are “still investing in the game with ad buys.” Prime “still prohibits alcohol ads” to run on its programing (AD AGE, 9/14).

Papa John's has differentiated itself in the restaurant industry but remains weaker than its larger peers, with flat margins and underwhelming growth. The company's franchising strategy is the correct one but we believe it should have contributed to further improvement, implying weakness in the brand.

Papa John's founder resigns amid backlash after admitting he used the N-word. He later famously said he “had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days,” criticizing the quality of the pies following his ouster.

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.

A "Wynne" for Russia However, Papa John's corporate does not own any of the brand's 190-plus Russian stores directly, instead they are operated by master franchisee Christopher Wynne, a Colorado native who lives part-time in Moscow (via New York Times).

The change happened after John Schnatter, the company's founder and former CEO, stirred up controversy when he claimed his company's sales were hurt by the way the NFL handled pro football players' protests for social justice. Pizza Hut took over at that time, only to get picked off by Little Caesars this year.