---
title: "Nation's Restaurant News: Papa John’s terminates NFL sponsorship"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/759de406-a268-4c4b-9792-29734b58baf8
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-papa-johns-terminates-nfl-sponsorship-2705721
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Marketing"]
published: 2018-02-28T14:09:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:31:40.254Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/fd39581300eea5678256c94b06bd077e8748.jpg
---

# Nation's Restaurant News: Papa John’s terminates NFL sponsorship

**TL;DR:** Papa John's terminated its NFL sponsorship after seven years, citing a dip in same-store earnings and a shift in focus to promoting food quality. The brand will work with 22 NFL teams and reposition itself with a new advertising agency.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-02-28. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-papa-johns-terminates-nfl-sponsorship-2705721).*

## Story

Papa John's is ending its official sponsorship of the National Football League after seven years of support. According to a recent article in Nation's Restaurant News, the decision comes in part due to the brand's recent dip in same-store earnings. The company will not completely cut ties with the NFL, as it plans to work alongside a select 22 teams moving forward.

The brand's new CEO, Steve Ritchie, says that Papa John's will now shift its focus to promoting the quality of its food and emphasizing its tagline. The brand has partnered with a new advertising agency in order to help reposition the brand within the industry in order to emphasize value offerings.

"We know our potential is so much greater than our results, and we are taking significant steps to reinvigorate our record of profitable growth and value creation. Actions are underway to improve our brand proposition, how we connect with customers, and how we operate at the unit level,” said Ritchie.

In 2017, the brand shuttered 274 locations across the nation. Papa John's experienced a loss of over half a million dollars compared to 2016 results.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Nation's Restaurant News (publication)
- Papa Johns (company)
- NFL (company)
- nfl sponsorship (topic)
- brand repositioning (topic)
- advertising agency (topic)
- same store earnings (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-papa-johns-terminates-nfl-sponsorship-2705721). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/759de406-a268-4c4b-9792-29734b58baf8).