Papa John's Takes the Field as Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL and Super Bowl XLIV

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- On Super Bowl Sunday, Americans will eat more than 30 million slices of pizza, roughly 350 slices per second. But only one restaurant will be the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl XLIV: Papa John's.

Papa John's, the recognized quality leader and world's third-largest pizza chain with more than 3,400 restaurants in 30 countries, announced today a first-time sponsorship to be the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL and Super Bowl XLIV. Papa John's will activate its sponsorship in several ways, including using the official status to celebrate January as "National Football Month," the time of year when football games matter most - all leading up to The Big Game on Sunday, February 7.

"Companies and brands associate with the NFL and the Super Bowl because they are committed to a quality and leadership position, and that's consistent with our philosophy at Papa John's," said Andrew Varga, Papa John's Chief Marketing Officer. "This is an important marketing partnership for Papa John's, as there is no better combination in our industry than pizza and NFL football. The Super Bowl is the grandest stage - or 'house' as we like to call it - and Papa John's is thrilled to be in the house with football fans at this event."

From now through the Super Bowl, Papa John's will have exclusive offers and deals perfect for the football viewing parties available at www.papajohns.com, including its Super XL IV pizza(available Jan. 15 through Feb. 14) - an extra-large pizza with up to four toppings for only $11.99.

The company has also launched its "Be in the House with Papa at the Super Bowl" sweepstakes for a chance to win two tickets and accommodations to Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida. Full details of the sweepstakes and registration are available at www.nationalfootballmonth.com.

Super Bowl XLI champion coach Tony Dungy is the honorary chairman of National Football Month, with $1 for every "All Pro Dad" special sold online at papajohns.com through Feb. 7 going to support Dungy's charity, All Pro Dad.

"Watching NFL football is one of our great social traditions and Papa John's pizza is a great choice for such occasions with family and friends," said Keith Turner, SVP, Media Sales & Sponsorship for the NFL. "We are very pleased to have Papa John's as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL and Super Bowl XLIV."

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine of the last 10 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the 2009 Gold Award for Consumers' Choice in Chains in the pizza segment, ranked first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Sweepstakes began on December 28, 2009 and end at January 24, 2010 at 11:59:00 PM ET. Open to legal U.S. residents of the 50 United States and Washington DC, 18 & older or age of majority. Void where prohibited. Employees of Papa John's USA, Inc., its affiliates, or Papa John's franchisees, the NFL Entities (as defined in the official rules), ePrize, LLC, and their parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Sponsor: Papa John's. For details & Official Rules go to www.nationalfootballmonth.com.

All NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League.

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SOURCE: Papa John's International, Inc.

Papa John's International, Inc.
Tish Muldoon, 502-261-4987
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
tish_muldoon@papajohns.com