Louisville Settles Nixing of Papa John's Naming Rights

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The University of Louisville Athletic Association will pay Papa John's founder John Schnatter $9.5 million over five and a half years in a settlement to terminate the pizza chain's naming rights to Cardinal Stadium, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The school removed the Papa John's name and logo from the 60,800-seat stadium last year, as Schnatter quickly became a PR liability. The pizza mogul made a succession of public missteps beginning in October 2017 with his condemnation of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for not doing enough to stop players from protesting as the national anthem played before games, a practice Schnatter alleged was hurting Papa John's sales as the "official pizza company" of the NFL. The NFL immediately stripped Papa John's of its league sponsor status.

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