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.

Former National Football League star quarterback Peyton Manning, who led the Broncos and Colts to Super Bowl victories, owned 31 Denver-area Papa John's Pizza sites from 2012 until 2018.

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

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.”

The alleged incident happened back in 1996, when Manning was a 19-year-old student. Naughright claimed that the quarterback put his "testicles and anus" on her face while she was carrying out an examination on his foot. Dr. Naughright spoke to Inside Edition about the incident that scarred her forever.

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.

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.

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.

Manning argued that since the NFC had the ball inside the five-yard line, they could not run the ball, to which the knee counted as a run by the quarterback. The official went to shake Manning's hand, but then he quickly realized the former NFL quarterback approached him to continue to shout.

For the team's sake as well as Manning's. We would learn later that our future Hall-of-Famer had an injured plantar fasciitis, requiring intensive physical therapy over the next six games.