JAMS PB&J teams with NFL players on protein-packed launch

JAMS is trying to make a childhood lunchbox staple feel like functional fuel, and it is doing it with NFL players in the product room, not just in the ad campaign. The PB&J brand has teamed with NFL Players Inc., the licensing and marketing arm of the NFL Players Association, on what the league says is its first licensing partnership in the food and nutrition category.

The company said the collaboration will create a high-protein PB&J for athletes, kids and families alike, with active players from every team invited to weigh in on flavors, ingredients and packaging. That matters because the product already sits in a crowded, protein-aware snack set, where credibility has to work harder than nostalgia alone. JAMS says each sandwich contains 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of sugar, no seed oils, no high-fructose corn syrup and no artificial colors, while the brand’s two flavors are Strawberry and Mixed Berry.

The strategy also shows how athlete involvement is evolving beyond simple endorsement theater. JAMS was created in 2025 by Nashville-based consumer products house The DropOut Companies, and it entered the market with a clearly sports-forward identity. Its earlier national rollout began at Walmart on July 14, 2025, before expanding to Target stores nationwide on November 10, 2025. The NFL deal extends that playbook, but with a sharper claim: not just athlete-backed, but athlete-shaped.

That distinction may help the brand in a category where protein is becoming a default promise rather than a differentiator. Uncrustables introduced a higher-protein PB&J in 2025 with 12 grams of protein per sandwich, which means JAMS is not stepping into an empty lane. It is entering a race where familiar formats are being upgraded with macros, and where the winner may be the brand that makes function feel most natural.

NFL Players Inc. said it has more than 75 licensees worldwide and access to more than 2,000 active players, a scale that explains why player IP has become such a potent consumer-products channel. JAMS had already leaned on athlete and celebrity backers including Caleb Williams, Alex Morgan, C.J. Stroud and Micah Parsons, along with Allison and Stephen Ellsworth and the LaBrant family. The new NFLPA partnership deepens that identity, turning player credibility into part of the recipe and betting that a sandwich can sell both sports legitimacy and snack-time ease.