Papa John’s used to be known for making medium-good pizza pies, but the company inadvertently found itself in the middle of an extra-large shitshow last year when CEO John Schnatter—Papa John himself—suggested that the NFL protests were hurting sales because of Papa John’s status as the “official pizza of the NFL.” Schnatter then stepped down from the company after his stupid comment seemed like it would actually hurt sales, and the fallout is apparently still coming as The Hill is now reporting that Papa John’s and the NFL have just severed their old relationship.
In a joint statement, Papa John’s and the NFL say that they made a “mutual decision” to end their partnership, choosing instead to “focus on partnerships with 22 local NFL teams, presence in broadcast and digital media, and key personalities in the sport.” That’s some complicated corporate-speak, but the main point is that Papa John’s is no longer the “official pizza of the NFL.”
This all leaves the door open for some other medium-good pizza chain to step up and claim that title for itself, though it’ll be tough to find another nationwide chain that qualifies as sufficiently medium-good.