Campbell’s Renews NFL Chunky Partnership

The Campbell’s Company has announced that it is renewing its partnership as the Official Soup Sponsor of the NFL – making it the second-longest-running sponsor in the league’s history, after Gatorade.

As the sponsorship enters its 29th year, Campbell’s says it will be expanding the partnership to frozen food. 

Sitting at the centre of the partnership is the company’s ‘Chunky’ brand, which has been a key part of Campbell’s NFL partnership since its inception.

Over the course of the 2026/27 season, the company says it will have brand activations for Chunky across key NFL moments – celebrating players, fans and football itself. 

“Campbell’s has been a trusted partner for nearly three decades, with food that is a centrepiece of NFL game day traditions,” says Tracie Rodburg, Senior Vice President of Global Sponsorship at the NFL. “We’re excited to continue working with Campbell’s on an expanded lineup of fan favourites.”

The NFL’s official soup sponsor

Campbell’s first became an official sponsor of the NFL in 1997 – the same year the company introduced its ‘Mama’s Boy’ ads, which starred football players being cared for by their mothers with Campbell’s Chunky Soup. 

The company reprised this campaign in 2012 with former New York Giants player Victor Cruz, and again in 2023 with the Kelce family. 

With this latest partnership, the company is looking to promote the launch of Chunky Frozen Bowls – high-protein, single-serve microwavable meals.

“Our nearly 30-year partnership with the NFL is rooted in a simple truth: great food has always been part of the game day experience,” said Jill Pratt, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at The Campbell’s Company. “With Chunky Frozen Bowls, we're giving fans another delicious and satisfying way to enjoy that tradition throughout the season.”

The most valuable marketing platform in US sports

Companies that partner with the NFL as a sponsor are likely to reach a highly engaged audience. 

According to SponsorPulse, the NFL has recently reached a peak in engagement, with more than two thirds (67%) of Americans engaging with the league in the first half of 2025. This reach , the company says, represents the highest point in its measurement history.

The same research finds that the NFL has been maintaining an all-time engagement average of 62%, with more than half (58%) of fans engaging with the NFL at least weekly. 

Meanwhile, an analysis from SponsorUnited has found that 2025 NFL team sponsorship reached US$2.7bn, making it the most valuable marketing platform in US sports. 

Many companies have been capitalising on this marketing opportunity, such as Novartis, with its Cannes Lions winning campaign “Relax Your Tight End”. 

Officially broadcast at the Super Bowl LX in 2026, the advertisement stars tight ends Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez and George Kittle, alongside former Super Bowl-winning coach and prostate-cancer survivor Bruce Adams.

Through the campaign, Novartis is looking to encourage men to get prostate cancer screenings.

“The phrase 'clenching your tight end' came up in some of the research, and it just naturally led to the execution,” Gail Horwood, Chief Marketing Officer of Novartis, said of the campaign.

Who are Campbell's biggest partners?

• The NFL: The National Football League represents one of Campbell’s most prominent marketing partnerships, spanning nearly three decades. Central to promoting the Chunky brand across American football gamedays, this collaboration expanded to include frozen meals, cementing Campbell's as the second-longest-running corporate sponsor in the league's history.
• Microsoft: Serving as the primary enterprise cloud partner, Microsoft powers Campbell’s digital infrastructure through Azure. This partnership enables the food manufacturer to modernise data warehousing, improve supply chain agility and maintain operational resilience across its global digital network.
• Walmart: As Campbell’s largest retail customer, Walmart accounts for a major proportion of annual net sales. The retail giant serves as the primary brick-and-mortar distribution channel for Campbell’s extensive product portfolio, including canned soups, sauces and snacks.
• Kroger: Ranking among Campbell’s highest-volume grocery buyers, Kroger secures widespread distribution of its soup, sauce and snack ranges across US supermarkets. This key retail partnership relies on collaborative supply chain forecasting to maintain high stock availability and drive joint promotional strategies.