Jersey Mike’s is bringing a brand new face to the desk — and he is no stranger to sports activities followers. The sub sandwich chain, ranked #2 on the 2025 Franchise 500, has tapped Eli Manning, the two-time Tremendous Bowl MVP and longtime New York Giants quarterback, to star in its first-ever NFL marketing campaign. The transfer, delivered with a wink, playfully benches actor Danny DeVito, who has served because the model’s celeb frontman for the previous three years.
The marketing campaign alerts a brand new period for Jersey Mike’s, which has been steadily rising from a regional favourite right into a nationwide powerhouse. With a current majority funding from personal fairness agency Blackstone and a brand new partnership because the “Official Sub Sandwich Sponsor of the NFL,” the corporate is seizing the second to develop its attain. Manning’s arrival because the model’s newest spokesperson underscores its technique: Use humor and star energy to construct deeper ties with sports activities followers whereas persevering with to scale on a worldwide stage.
Manning vs. DeVito
The brand new advert introduces Manning as Jersey Mike’s latest spokesperson — solely to have DeVito crash by means of the roof like a superhero and accuse him of stealing the highlight. The spot highlights the distinction between the 6’5″ quarterback and the 4’10” actor, leaning into their banter as they go nose-to-nose.
The video, titled, New Spokesperson, is a lighthearted approach of ushering Manning in as the brand new face of Jersey Mike’s whereas maintaining DeVito within the combine, bridging the model’s previous and future.
Hometown spokesman
DeVito’s function with Jersey Mike’s started in 2022, when he grew to become the model’s first-ever celeb endorser. A local of Asbury Park, New Jersey, his campaigns typically performed on nostalgia and Jersey pleasure — an ideal match for an organization based as a single sub store in Level Nice in 1956. DeVito helped personify Jersey Mike’s as greater than a sandwich chain, anchoring it within the state’s id whereas connecting with audiences nationwide.
The 80-year-old DeVito just lately wrapped Season 17 of It is At all times Sunny in Philadelphia, which capped off one other run of irreverent comedy with a surprisingly sentimental finale. Within the closing episode, his character, Frank, took half in a parody of The Golden Bachelor that ended with a rain-soaked proposal reverse visitor star Carol Kane, reuniting the duo many years after their time collectively on Taxi.
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A brand new chapter
With Blackstone’s $8 billion funding earlier this yr, the departure of founder Peter Cancro and the NFL sponsorship, Jersey Mike’s is a pressure within the franchise business. The corporate, which opened its 3,000th location earlier this yr, is positioning itself as a worldwide quick-service large, increasing its advertising footprint throughout tv, streaming, digital platforms and worldwide sports activities audiences. Manning’s presence — coupled along with his enterprise portfolio, which incorporates personal fairness and sports activities ventures like NJ/NY Gotham FC — provides the model each credibility and attain within the sports activities world.
As Jersey Mike’s shifts from a family-owned heritage model to a personal equity-backed world contender, its partnership with the NFL represents extra than simply promoting. It is a signal that the sub store as soon as synonymous with easygoing New Jersey summers is now taking part in among the many heavyweights.
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Jersey Mike’s is bringing a brand new face to the desk — and he is no stranger to sports activities followers. The sub sandwich chain, ranked #2 on the 2025 Franchise 500, has tapped Eli Manning, the two-time Tremendous Bowl MVP and longtime New York Giants quarterback, to star in its first-ever NFL marketing campaign. The transfer, delivered with a wink, playfully benches actor Danny DeVito, who has served because the model’s celeb frontman for the previous three years.
The marketing campaign alerts a brand new period for Jersey Mike’s, which has been steadily rising from a regional favourite right into a nationwide powerhouse. With a current majority funding from personal fairness agency Blackstone and a brand new partnership because the “Official Sub Sandwich Sponsor of the NFL,” the corporate is seizing the second to develop its attain. Manning’s arrival because the model’s newest spokesperson underscores its technique: Use humor and star energy to construct deeper ties with sports activities followers whereas persevering with to scale on a worldwide stage.
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