Pizza and football go hand in hand, but there's one NFL quarterback who appears to be making football fans extra hungry for pizza.
This guy. Peyton something or other, maybe you've heard of him?
That's according to a new report from TMZ Sports which found that all 21 Papa John's pizza franchises that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning bought last year when he first arrived in Mile High City are selling a lot more pizza than they used to before Manning bought the shops up.
Several of the shops used to sell around $3,000 to $4,000 of pizza on any given Broncos game day, but that has jumped to $5,000 to $6,000 a day since Manning took over. That's the equivalent of selling roughly 60 pizzas an hour.
Other nearby Papa John's that are not owned by Manning are not feeling the "Peyton Factor," as the employees call it, with no reports of improvement of pizza sales.
Each of Manning's Papa John's offers discounts on the Mondays after a Broncos win and, so far, the Broncos are undefeated (also thanks to Peyton Manning).
Manning purchased the 21 Papa John's franchises around the state last October and his timing couldn't have been better -- just two weeks later Colorado voters passed Amendment 64 which legalized marijuana for recreational use.
Another thing that goes hand in hand is marijuana and the munchies, and pizza is classic stoner cuisine.
But even before weed was legal, Manning was confident that buying the pizza franchises was a savvy move.
“It's a smart investment now and will be long after I'm done playing football,” Manning was quoted by NBC News after sealing the deal on October 26.
But that could just be because many of his fellow athletes are already finding success in the world of chain restaurants. Basketball star "Monster Mash" Jamal Mashburn, formerly of the Dallas Mavericks, owns 37 Papa John’s franchises, among other chains. Shaquille O’Neill and Venus Williams are also in the business among a reported 50 athletes signing franchise agreements in the past two years, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
(h/t: TMZ)
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