John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images; Papa JohnsIt turns out Peyton Manning is getting a second-hand Rocky Mountain high thanks to marijuana being legalized in Colorado.
"I've gotten to know some of the folks here in Colorado," the Denver Broncos quarterback told Sports Illustrated's MMQB With Peter King. "There's some different laws out here in Colorado. Pizza business is pretty good out here, believe it or not, due to some recent law changes. So when you come to a different place, you've kind of got to learn everything that comes with it."
Now what does he mean by that again?
Well, after Manning joined the Broncos following his 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, he bought up 21 Papa John's franchises—just two weeks before a majority of voters said yes to Amendment 64, making recreational pot legal in Colorado.
Touchdown! With extra cheese!
Not that the NFL star planned it that way...
"It's a smart investment now and will be long after I'm done playing football," Manning, who worked his charm in an endearing Papa John's commercial last fall, told reporters back in 2012, when the deal went through.
"He's the kind of partner we're looking for, not only in marketing but in business," Papa John's chief marketing officer Andrew Varga also said at the time. "The pizza category is fun. Our founder has fun when he gets into the commercials. You throw Peyton into that mix with the NFL platform and it makes it easy to execute lighthearted commercials that are very much in character for both."
Just consider the addition of a silent, smoky partner a win in overtime.
Meanwhile, it's a bit of a coincidence that the Broncos played the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, considering Washington is now (since July) the only other state where recreational pot use is legal—though obviously only one team played as if it had been indulging in too much, er, pizza before the game.