Two Denver Broncos players are getting a little jerky — beef jerky, that is. The world of celebrity endorsements can get very weird (remember when Joe Namath wore pantyhose and Joe DiMaggio shilled for Mr. Coffee?), but this may be the first time that two players on the same team have battled for dried-beef supremacy.
Chef’s Cut Real Jerky, a brand founded in 2009 by a chef and his buddy not satisfied by subpar golf-course snacks, snagged one of the top players in the league, linebacker Von Miller, to champion its product. Miller’s been eating clean recently (other than a mozzarella-stick scare that kept him out of practice for a day in mid-January) and his endorsement of Chef’s Cut — billed as “steak in a bag” — includes the statement that “you can’t put regular gas in a Ferrari!”
Tight end Vernon Davis made a name for himself with his sure hands over a nine-year career with the San Francisco 49ers. The few games in which he’s played for the Broncos since being picked up mid-season haven’t been quite as productive, but fans are hoping he’ll return to form in time to help propel the team to victory in Super Bowl 50. KRAVE Jerky, which makes beef, pork and turkey strips, is banking on a comeback, too; the company — which was founded by a marathon runner and markets itself to athletes — signed Davis to be part of its “KRAVE life” team.
“My life is go, go, go — and KRAVE gives me the energy I need to keep up with it all,” says the tight end on the jerky company’s website. As a 49er, he racked up big yards in Super Bowl XLVII, so let’s hope that all that protein will help fuel him past a case of alligator arms against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.