Peyton Manning held a large stake in Papa John’s Pizza up until recently, but now he has done away with it.

Peyton Manning Papa John’s locations sales news

The ex-football star sold his shares in 31 Colorado Papa John’s stores.

Manning — who will be 42 later this month — played for the Broncos for four years before winning the Super Bowl after the 2015 season and then retiring. The five-time NFL MVP bough the Papa John’s stores in 2012 as part of a six-year joint venture with Papa John’s International, company spokesman Peter Collins stated. Manning appeared in several of the chain’s commercials during football games.

Papa John’s and the NFL described the decision to end their sponsorship deal — which began in 2010 — as “mutual,” although many are skeptical of this. The relationship between the two suffered after company founder John Schnatter blamed national anthem protests by some NFL players for the decline of his firm’s pizza sales. Schnatter said the league had “poor leadership” and that the issue of anthem demonstrations should have been dealt with shortly after Colin Kaepernick began the action in August 2016.

The company’s stock plummeted and Schnatter apologized less than two weeks after that. Papa John’s released a statement saying, while it believes Americans “should honor the anthem,” it supports “the players’ movement to create a new platform for change.” By December, Schnatter had stepped down as head of the company. Pizza Hut is now the NFL’s official pizza.

Despite all this, Manning will reportedly still serve as a pitchman and brand ambassador for Papa John’s.

Manning has also been rumored to become a football analyst for a major network, and several reports from this week have been suggesting he could land major deals with a network. Fox Sports and ESPN are reportedly so keen on getting the former QB to call their respective “Thursday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” games that they’re prepared to pay him up to $10 million annually.

Nevertheless, both ESPN and Fox are looking to boost viewership after ratings fell substantially during the 2017 season.

Manning could also end up becoming a part-owner of an NFL team. Time will surely tell what lies ahead for the beloved QB.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 12: Host Peyton Manning speaks onstage at The 2017 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Papa John’s has ceased to be the official pizza of the NFL.

Papa John’s Pizza deal with NFL news

The chain’s CEO Steve Richie stated Tuesday on the company’s earnings conference call that they and the league mutually agreed this decision was in Papa John’s best interest.

The pizza company became the NFL’s official pizza in 2010. Papa John’s said on the aforementioned call that there was no additional cost for undoing the deal.

“The NFL and Papa John’s have made a mutual decision to shift from their official league sponsorship to a focus on partnerships with 22 local NFL teams, presence in broadcast and digital media, and key personalities in the sport,” the league and company said in a joint statement.

Papa John’s will continue to invest in the NFL through its local-market deals with 22 teams. The company will no longer be present at the league’s big events, including the draft and the Super Bowl, which will be given to the new pizza sponsor. The league is expected to have a replacement before the 2018 season starts.

Nearly four months ago, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, then also the CEO, said players who protested the national anthem hurt the business. The company began pulling the NFL logo from its commercials during game broadcasts.

“We are disappointed the NFL and its leadership did not resolve this,” Schnatter said at the time.

Twelve days later, Schnatter apologized for his remarks after the company’s stock had dropped 12 percent.

Papa John’s chief financial officer, Lance Tucker, will reportedly leave after this week to become CFO at Jack in the Box.

Sales for the pizza chain decreased 3.9 percent nationwide from October to December compare to the same time period a year prior, the company announced Tuesday. They said it was due to promotions that didn’t pan out and negative consumer perception. Shares were down 7 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday as of 5:09 pm EST.

Papa John’s also made headlines in November when it was revealed members of several neo-Nazi and other white supremacist groups’ began endorsing the chain’s products on their websites. The company quickly released a statement saying they refused to sell to these types of customers.

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 31: John H. Schnatter, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Papa John’s International, Inc. rings the NASDAQ Opening Bell at NASDAQ MarketSite on January 31, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)

Papa John’s has officially apologized for comments CEO John Schnatter recently made in which he blamed the wave of NFL players’ national anthem protests for the pizza company’s decline in sales.

Papa John’s Pizza sales decline news

Schnatter said on Nov. 1 that “NFL leadership has hurt Papa John’s shareholders” and that the protests “should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago.”

Here is the apology statement Papa John’s released Tuesday:

“The statements made on our earnings call were describing the factors that impact our business and we sincerely apologize to anyone that thought they were divisive. That definitely was not our intention. We believe in the right to protest inequality and support the players’ movement to create a new platform for change. We also believe together, as Americans, we should honor our anthem. There is a way to do both.”

“We will work with the players and league to find a positive way forward. Open to ideas from all…”

Schnatter — who often appears in the company’s commercials alongside notable celebrities like Peyton Manning — is known to be a friend of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones recently threatened to sue the NFL over current contract discussions with commissioner Roger Goodell. Jones and President Donald Trump, among others, have lambasted the anthem protests.

Groups of neo-Nazis and other white supremacists recently caused a stir by claiming Papa John’s as their official pizza. The company released another statement saying it refuses to sell pizza to this type of customers. Comedian Stephen Colbert commented on this news:

Papa John’s stock has dropped by nearly 13 percent since Schnatter’s remarks.

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 31: John H. Schnatter, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Papa John’s International, Inc. rings the NASDAQ Opening Bell at NASDAQ MarketSite on January 31, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)

Denver Broncos quarterback and Papa John’s Pizza pitchman Peyton Manning made a public appearance on Wednesday night to give a speech about leadership during a conference in Jacksonville, Fla. After quickly realizing that the audience’s interest was on a different subject, Manning opened the floor by addressing the elephant in the room.

Peyton Manning Makes Fake Retirement Announcement

“Many of you have probably heard that I have a significant announcement to make, so I thought I’d go ahead and make it with all of you here tonight,” Manning said, before deadpanning: “Papa John’s is offering 50 percent off tonight through Friday.

“I’m sure that was the response you were looking for,” the QB then added. Not exactly.

Manning, 39, has been debating his retirement from the NFL after 18 seasons. He and the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California on Feb. 7, 2016. Manning has now won two Super Bowl titles.

A decision is expected to come soon. Manning’s $19 million base salary for 2016 will be guaranteed at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, and an announcement on his future could come at any time between now and then.

It has been speculated that Manning could potentially be released by the Broncos if he hasn’t come to a decision by this deadline. His decision will likely most affect backup QB Brock Osweiler, who filled in well when Manning missed seven weeks with an injury last season.

Osweiler, 25, is set to become a free agent on March 9, and the team is unwilling and/or unable to pay him the market rate if Manning is going to be on the roster in 2016, under any type of contract.

Manning has been unwilling to explicitly state his post-career plans. When asked about this during the conference, Manning simply said:

“Hard to say. One reason I’ve enjoyed my current job so much is, I’ve been all in.”