Whatever Happened To Papa John's Founder John Schnatter?

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For many years, Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter was the face of the highly successful pizza chain he started in the mid-1980s. Similar to Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, and KFC icon Colonel Sanders, Schnatter also stepped up as the chain's spokesman, appearing in Papa John's TV commercials and even depicted on the front of its pizza boxes, it seemed like Papa John's and Schnatter were one and the same. Then, Schnatter's once very public image went dim, leaving some to wonder what he's been up to recently.

A series of public and private missteps in the late 2010s resulted in a split between Schnatter and the company he created. In the years that followed, Schnatter vacillated between fighting in court with the Papa John's execs that took his place and trying to rebuild a public image that departed ever so slightly from his pizza bigwig persona. Schnatter isn't gracing television screens with the same frequency he once was, but he is still around ... if you know where to look. This is how the Papa John's founder wrestled with professional adversity, navigated his next chapter, and how you can follow him today.

Indiana-native John Schnatter had an entrepreneurial drive from a young age. He started making pizzas in a broom closet at his father's tavern in 1984, and they sold well enough that Schnatter opened his first Papa John's pizzeria the following year. By 1993, the rapidly expanding chain was a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Despite Papa John's continued success, Schnatter's leadership style was called into question on numerous occasions over the years. It caused problems for Papa John's.

Schnatter stepped down as CEO for the first time in 2005, but remained Papa John's chairman. According to a report from Forbes magazine, relinquishing control of Papa John's in any capacity proved uncomfortable. The report alleges that Schnatter was known to undermine the decisions of new CEO, Nigel Travis. When Schnatter returned as CEO in 2008, he hired close friends in top executive positions. Between the late '90s and the late 2000s, Schnatter was accused of alleged misconduct by multiple women, and on two occasions a confidential settlement was paid to his accusers.

Several former Papa John's executives recalled the company's "boy's club" culture going from bad to worse when Schnatter appointed Steve Ritchie as Papa John's chief operating officer (COO) in 2014. Up to that point, Papa John's flawed infrastructure was not public knowledge — that changed in 2017.

By 2017, John Schnatter was riding high. In March, he was included on the Forbes Billionaires List with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. Papa John's had 5,199 restaurants across 50 states and 44 countries at the end of December that year. It was also the year when Schnatter's remarks about activism in the NFL came with sweeping consequences.

Papa John's had been the official pizza of the NFL since 2010. Some of the league's biggest stars, including Hall of Famer (and Papa John's franchisee) Peyton Manning, appeared alongside Schnatter in Papa John's TV ads. Meanwhile, NFL players, most notably Colin Kaepernick, began taking a knee during the national anthem in quiet protest against police brutality and racial inequality toward African Americans. Schnatter disparaged the movement and accused it of hurting pizza sales. 

As reported by the New York Times, Schnatter said on a conference call with investors, "The NFL has hurt us by not resolving the current debacle to the players' and owners' satisfaction." Within weeks, Papa John's stock dropped by nearly 13%. Schnatter took the brunt of the backlash. Just over a month after the November 2017 conference call, Schnatter stepped down as Papa John's CEO but retained his position as chairman of the board. COO Steve Ritchie took Schnatter's place. In early 2018, the sponsorship deal between the NFL and Papa John's came to an end.

John Schnatter's racially insensitive remarks about the NFL national anthem protests during a conference call should have made him more cautious about what he said — but it didn't. In July 2018, news broke that Schnatter had come under fire yet again for an unmistakably similar reason. Forbes was the first to report on the May 2018 conference call that ended up in Schnatter's removal as Papa John's chairman.

The marketing firm Laundry Service was hired in 2018 to assist Schnatter with sharpening his public relations skills. The Forbes story alleged that while Schnatter was on a conference call with Laundry Service employees, he was asked how he planned to distance himself from engagement with racist groups online. Schnatter replied, "Colonel Sanders" used racist language (while using the racist language), then pointed out that Sanders was never vilified for it. Once the public caught wind of the incident, Papa John's stock market shares dipped by about 5%.

In an email to Forbes, Schnatter owned up to the blunder, saying, "News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true. Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society." The 56-year-old promptly resigned as Papa John's chairman. Papa John's issued a statement about condemning racist language, and the contract between Papa John's and Laundry Service was terminated.

In the days following John Schnatter's ousting as Papa John's chairman, according to CNBC he sent a strongly worded letter to the board. The letter detailed his grievances over being asked to resign for using racist language prior to an investigation into the Forbes article (which went public with the claim). Schnatter also accused the Laundry Service marketing agency of blackmailing Papa John's for $6 million to keep the conference call containing Schnatter's utterance of the racial slur private. He maintained that Laundry Service provoked him into saying the slur, his use of it was taken out of context, and he regretted giving up his chairman seat.

From the board's perspective, Schnatter had become a liability. Three days after Schnatter resigned, Papa John's announced plans for an overhaul of the brand, which included removing Schnatter's image from its pizza boxes. Schnatter said the board's decision to push him out of the company he founded was a breach of its fiduciary duties, so he sued.

In court, Schnatter stated he was disinterested in resuming his position as CEO but as a director and 30% shareholder in the company, he insisted upon his right to retain some degree of prominence in Papa John's business. By 2019, Schnatter and Papa John's reached a settlement (via CNN). The truce involved Schnatter officially stepping down from the board, while Papa John's executives agreed to hand over certain documents Schnatter demanded and allowed him to have input in selecting a new director.

Papa John's had only been around for a couple of years when John Schnatter met M. Annette Cox, the woman who would become his wife. Schnatter's 2017 autobiography, "Papa: The Story of Papa John's Pizza," recounts how and Cox first crossed paths days before the 1986 Kentucky Derby and that they had been together ever since. "She's the only person in the world who can run a Papa John's store better than I can," he wrote. Cox filed for divorce in December 2019. In court papers, she described their 32-year marriage as "irretrievably broken." The couple legally separated on April 1, 2019.

Schnatter petitioned for divorce the same day. Court filings on Cox's behalf listed Schnatter as a 57-year-old unemployed resident of Louisville, Kentucky. When the petitions were filed, Schnatter's net worth had dwindled to $500 million. The couple share two adult children and owned multiple properties, including an 18,000-square-foot mansion worth an estimated $11.2 million, the most expensive private residence in greater Louisville at the time.

For years, Schnatter dodged whispers of inappropriate relationships with women. Then came Schnatter's highly-publicized downfall and his lengthy legal battle with Papa John's. Their divorce was finalized on December 18, 2019, but the details were not made public. The former pair signed off on a settlement agreement that allowed them to divide their assets in a confidential manner.

He may not be the head honcho of Papa John's anymore, but he still likes to oversee things where he can. John Schnatter is a bonafide sports fanatic, and his favorite athletic event is the Kentucky Derby. He called the horse racing event "the greatest two minutes in sports" and since 2022, he has thrown an annual bash at his Kentucky mansion in its honor. Based on the looks of it, he spares no expense for the occasion. In recent years, Schnatter has documented scenes from his lavish Kentucky Derby parties via social media, where he and a couple hundred of his closest friends celebrate the venerable sports tradition in style.

Schnatter opts for a pizza-centered menu, rather than a spread of Kentucky Derby-themed recipes, but food, drinks, live music, outdoor games, and formal attire are all hallmarks of Schnatter's Kentucky Derby soirée. These flashy parties have Schnatter stepping back into the spotlight in a non-controversial way. He may not be heading up a fast food chain anymore, but Schnatter has a high-style devotion to the Kentucky Derby.

It's common for public figures to go silent on social media at times of turbulence, and that's precisely what John Schnatter did. Schnatter's personal Instagram has been scrubbed of any content before November 26, 2019. He regularly posts on Instagram, and sticks to a handful of topics: high-profile sporting events, media appearances, hanging with his grandson, and of course, Papa John's pizza. On Facebook, Schnatter primarily shows his political side, posting a lot of content in praise of Donald Trump.

Schnatter's relationship with X is a little bit different. Rather than deleting all content posted before his years of controversy, Schnatter kept seven photos tweeted between 2011 and 2012. After that, Schnatter went dark on X for over a decade. In November 2024, Schnatter returned to the platform to acknowledge the passing of a friend and former business partner. One day later, he uploaded a TikTok video of himself claiming that Papa John's changed its pizza sauce for the worse since he left (Schnatter's TikTok is almost completely devoted to talking about Papa John's).

Of the four social media platforms he uses these days, X is the one he uses the least. It's also where he diversifies his content the most. Between the usual Papa John's content and documenting his attendance at professional sporting events, Schnatter uploaded a video showcasing his winery and a screenshot of a tweet from Trump, acknowledging Schnatter's approval of his second presidency.

His legal feud with Papa John's was settled years ago, but John Schnatter's court battle with Laundry Service isn't over. The conference call that ended his pizza career, was recorded by Laundry Service staff, and Schnatter sued the agency in December 2019, per CNBC. Schnatter alleged that the call was recorded without his knowledge. He also accused Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Media, which owns Laundry Service, of demanding $6 million from Papa John's, or the record of Schnatter uttering racist language would be leaked to the media. Schnatter repeatedly called the conference call an alleged setup.

From the start, the lawsuit was rife with drama. During the discovery phase of litigation, Schnatter submitted one cellphone for imaging to preserve electronically stored information (ESI) that the defense could use as potential evidence. When Laundry Service's legal team found numerous partial text threads, Schnatter reluctantly revealed his habit of deleting his texts. Further inquiry led to Schnatter also admitting that he owned 11 phones at the time of the conference call and all of them had been destroyed.

Schnatter's actions resulted in the court ordering him to pay part of Laundry service's legal fees. Laundry Service attempted to have the case dismissed, and Schnatter released a transcript of the conference call in an attempt to illustrate Laundry Service's alleged conspiracy against him. The monetary amount he's seeking in the ongoing lawsuit isn't public knowledge, but Schnatter said that the money will go to charity.

If you've seen any of Papa John's old TV ads, you know that John Schnatter is comfortable in the spotlight. It's a quality he has retained. These days, Schnatter is a regular at speaking events and is frequently prone to motivational speeches on social media. One topic he talks about a lot is how to succeed in business, and almost always cites his leadership at Papa John's as an example. Schnatter has also used some of these public speaking opportunities to call out professional practices he doesn't agree with.

Schnatter has spoken out against raising wages for fast food workers, and expressed disapproval over how expensive fast food is now. In 2022, he shard his belief that leftist politics have contributed to the economic struggles small business owners face.

Taking a divisive stance is something John Schnatter is very familiar with, and it continues to be a position he is comfortable taking. A prime example is his unwavering support for President Donald Trump. In 2025, as Trump's economic policies send waves of uncertainty across the country and beyond, Schnatter's loyalty toward the president has not appeared to waver.

In 2021, Schnatter and Trump came together to back former football star Herschel Walker's run for Senate in Georgia. More recently, Schnatter continues to publicly support the Trump administration. In March 2025, Schnatter told Newsmax, "He's given me my freedom of speech back. He's given me my liberty back. And I'm indebted for the rest of my life, because now I can go out and speak my mind — of course, in a constructive way."

Schnatter has also consistently applauded Trump's reputation as a businessman. In short, Trump's "Make America Great Again" belief system is a hit with the Papa John's founder. Verbal praise of Trump is just one way he shows his support. In September 2024, Schnatter donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Republican National Committee and another several thousand dollars to Trump's presidential campaign.

Papa John's has made great efforts to shed John Schnatter's imprint on the company, even going as far as removing the apostrophe from its name. On the other hand, Schnatter can't let go. He loves a media moment, and he makes a lot of podcast appearances.

Schnatter has been a guest on Michael Franzese's Podcast to share the story of how he led Papa John's to worldwide success. On the Truth podcast with Vivek Ramaswamy, Schnatter discussed his business prowess and conservative views as well as the Papa John's board members' investigation of him, which he deemed costly and shady. He's also a reminisced about the past on the Iced Coffee Hour podcast, like how he and his brother were elated to take home $200 a night in Papa John's broom closet era, or when Papa John's fought Pizza Hut in court in the '90s and won.

Despite his dramatic separation from Papa John's, Schnatter continues to grab the table mic and tell it how he thinks it is. The ex-spokesman doesn't shy away from public speaking and has especially embraced the podcast format.