The NFL may be at risk of losing one of their biggest advertisers.
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In their third quarter earnings call, Papa John's CEO John Schnatter claimed that the ongoing NFL protests have affected his company's earnings, and that they will be pulling some of their advertising associated with the NFL.
On 3Q earnings call, @papajohns CEO John Schnatter blames "NFL leadership" for "current debacle" between players and owners. Stock is -5%
— Chris Otts (@christopherotts) November 1, 2017
John "Papa John" Schnatter on protests: "This should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago." Papa John's is NFL sponsor. https://t.co/nFEdxsMySI
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) November 1, 2017
Papa John’s says it has been pulling advertising associated with the NFL. The league, it says, has given some future spots in return.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 1, 2017
ESPN's Darren Rovell detailed more:
"Leadership starts at the top and this is an example of poor leadership," Schnatter said, noting he thought the issue had been "nipped in the bud" a year and a half ago.
In revising sales estimates for the next quarter, Papa John's president and chief operating officer Steve Ritchie said on the call that the NFL deal was the primary suspect behind the decline and that "we expect it to persist unless a solution is put in place."
The protests started a year and a half ago, when then San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee as a form of protest of racial inequalities. However, more NFL players have started to protest this season, with those protests involving more of a political statement against President Donald Trump and NFL ownership instead of what Kaepernick originally started last year.
This may be the most interesting test for the NFL yet with regards to these protests. While some NFL leadership has been upset with the protests, the league has generally been allowing them to continue happening. The potential cost of a major advertiser could be a cause for the NFL to change their position and act more defiantly on the protests.
