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

Travis Kelce is among the fans of the sandwiches, once revealing that he eats more of them than "anything else in the world"

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

When The Athletic reported on the NFL's "secret," go-to halftime snack of orange slices several years ago, The New York Times sports outlet learned that many players opted to pass on the citrus fruit and instead munch on another kid-friendly favorite: Uncrustables.

That set The Athletic on a mission to find out just how many of the sealed crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches get eaten by the league each year.

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.

In a breakdown by team, the Denver Broncos handily topped the list, consuming 7,000 of the sandwiches a week.

Related: Travis Kelce Details the One Food He Eats Before Every NFL Game: It Gets 'My Blood Sugar Going'

The Seattle Seahawks came in second place with 3,200 consumed per week, followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars with 3,150 and the Miami Dolphins with 3,000. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Cincinnati Bengals and the New Orleans Saints ranked last on the list, tying with 500 Uncrustables consumed.

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Coincidentally, Uncrustables — which are marketed by Smucker's and found in the frozen food aisle of grocery stores — were invented by a retired football player, according to The Athletic. Len Kretchman, a former wide receiver for North Dakota State University, went on to work with schools in the food service industry. In the 1990s, his wife Emily "suggested he create a mass-produced peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the crust," per the outlet.

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.

Related: NFL Stadium Foods You Have to Try at Least Once — from Pizza Burgers to Cotton Candy Burritos

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 told The Athletic. “We were grabbing five, six at a time.”

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

“The Uncrustables always found their way to the bottom and got smashed by the playbook. But still edible. Still in one compartment," Saturday continued. “Didn’t matter. You could throw your playbook on top of ’em, didn’t make any difference. Squished, unsquished, you’re gonna crush it.”

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 end Travis Kelce revealed on his podcast New Heights last year that he eats more of the sandwiches than "anything else in the world."

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

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