Chicken wing sales slump blamed on NFL protests

One of the biggest U.S. chicken producers blames the recent NFL player-protest controversy for slower sales of chicken wings, often considered a game-time favorite of fans.

Sanderson Farms Inc. reports that spot prices slumped in each of the last three months and are now 14 percent lower than a year earlier, according to Bloomberg.  That's after wing prices had a banner year for much of 2017, boosting profits at Sanderson.

“The only thing puzzling me right now is wings,” said Sanderson CEO Joe F. Sanderson Jr.  “We’ve been talking to our wing customers and they’re the ones that are telling us that they’re seeing less traffic in their stores.  They attribute that to the NFL.”

A graphic posted by Bloomberg shows the spot price of chicken wings sinking 28 percent since the peak in September.
Last month, Papa John's Pizza apologized for CEO John Schnatter blaming sluggish pizza sales on NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.