NFL Players Eat 'at Least 80,000 Uncrustables a Year' — See the Breakdown by Team

Mar. 15, 2025

A football (stock image); Uncrustables.Photo:Getty, Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty

Getty, Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty

NFL athletes may be playing in the big league — but their snacking habits are still rooted in their childhood sports days.

WhenThe Athleticreported on the NFL’s “secret,” go-tohalftime snackof orange slices several years ago,TheNew York Timessports outlet learned that many players opted to pass on the citrus fruit and instead munch on another kid-friendly favorite: Uncrustables.

After collecting data at the end of the 2023 season from the 24 NFL teams who participated (out of 32 teams), the outlet learned that the players “easily go through at least 80,000 Uncrustables a year” — when including games, practices and training camps. That number of sandwiches would cover more than 18 yards of a football field.

Denver Broncos players on the field in January 2024.Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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The couple made the very first Uncrustable in their own kitchen, using a glass to press down on the bread and cut off the crust. They added a crimp to the sandwich’s edges. Four years after introducing the product, Smucker’s bought the company in 1999.

Uncrustables.

The portable, quick-fueling sandwiches eventually made their way to the NFL. Jeff Saturday, a former center for the Indianapolis Colts, recalled Uncrustables being part of a spread of food laid out for players during Super Bowl week in 2007, ahead of the team’s matchup against the Chicago Bears.

“We were all scoopin’ and scorin’, ” Saturday toldThe Athletic. “We were grabbing five, six at a time.”

Even when thrown into a gym bag or backpack, they held up nicely, he remembers.

Travis Kelce in 2016.George Gojkovich/Getty

George Gojkovich/Getty

The NFL’s love for Uncrustables continues nearly 20 years later. According to the outlet, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle eats two Uncrustables during flights to away games and from two to four on flights home. Kansas City Chiefs tight endTravis Kelcerevealed on his podcastNew Heightslast year that he eats more of the sandwiches than “anything else in the world.”

“We’re all creatures of habit, dude,” Saturday toldThe Athletic. “Almost freakishly. If you’re a two-Uncrustables-a-day kind of guy, that’s just what you do.”

source: people.com