Papa John's, NFL Officially End Joint Sponsorship Contract

Papa John's has ended its sponsorship agreement with the NFL, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.

Rovell shared a joint statement noting the mutual decision to end the deal:

Per Rovell, Papa John's sales dropped 3.9 percent from October through December compared to 2016.

Founder John Schnatter ripped the league in November for its lack of response to players kneeling during the national anthem.

"The NFL has been a long and valued partner over the years. But we're certainly disappointed that the NFL and its leadership did not resolve the ongoing situation to the satisfaction of all parties long ago," Schnatter said, per Zlati Meyer of USA Today. "This should've been nipped in the bud a year-and-a-half ago."

He stepped down as CEO of the company on January 1.

As Charles Gasparino of Fox Business Network reported, the player protests were at the "heart of the breakup" with the NFL. Gasparino was first to report the chain was "unlikely to remain" the NFL's official pizza sponsor. 

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended Schnatter's comments shortly after, although he also revealed he was a part owner of 120 Papa John's stores. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported other owners believed Jones was behind Schnatter's words.

While Papa John's will no longer be the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, the company will remained involved with individual teams and players, according to Tom Barrabi of Fox Business.

Terry Lefton of SportsBusinessDaily.com reported that Pizza Hut will be the league's replacement sponsor, with the deal running for four years and more money than the Papa John's deal.