Papa John’s Pizza, NFL end their sponsorship deal

Papa John’s Pizza is no longer an official sponsor of the NFL, though they will continue to have sponsorship deals with individual NFL teams.

The league and pizza chain announced the news on Tuesday in a joint statement. In the statement, the two sides said Papa John’s will be a sponsor for 22 individual teams.

Joint statement from NFL & Papa John’s on Papa John’s giving up official pizza sponsorship. pic.twitter.com/KVAW3QNSA1

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 27, 2018

Papa John’s had some controversies surrounding the NFL during the season. Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter attributed a drop in sales to the NFL’s national anthem controversy. There was a report saying some believed Jerry Jones was behind his comments.

Not only did Schnatter end up leaving as the company’s CEO, but now the sides have slightly backed off their previous arrangement.