Papa John’s teams up with Shaq

Pizza franchise Papa John’s scores a slam-dunk by announcing NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’ Neal as its latest brand ambassador.

Since retiring from the court, All-Star baller Shaquille O’ Neal has made a reputation for himself in the world of business. He’s now agreed a partnership with worldwide pizza franchise Papa John’s to become the new face of the brand.

Shaq - known by many as the ‘Diesel’ from his playing days - is set to join the company’s board of directors and invest in nine Atlanta-based restaurants. This announcement follows Shaq’s appearance at a Papa John’s charity event last year, when he debuted the ‘Shaq-eroni’: a special pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage and extra cheese.

The announcement followed news that Papa John’s was planning to unveil a star-studded list of new brand ambassadors from the worlds of sport and social media. With four NBA titles and over 11 million followers on Instagram, Shaq fits that bill exactly.

This isn’t the first investment that Shaq has made in the Atlanta franchise game; he’s already invested in a Krispy Kreme doughnuts franchise in the Georgia state capital. Out on the west coast, he’s also opened a fried chicken restaurant in Las Vegas, as well as Shaquille’s in LA - a fine dining spot specialising in old-fashioned southern cuisine.

Steve Ritchie, president and chief executive of Papa John’s, is excited to have the ‘Diesel’ on-board: "Shaquille has an excellent entrepreneurial background, including as a restaurant franchise owner, and is a natural creative marketer”.

"Shaquille has demonstrated great success through understanding the customer value proposition with product and brand differentiation”.

"The board and I are excited to work with Shaquille and look forward to the terrific possibilities to strengthen our position together."