*Pizza Hut has new owners and a new nickname. Weeks after closing a $2.7 billion sale, the chain is rebranding as simply “Hut” for the 2026 NFL season, PEOPLE reports.
Private equity firm LongRange Capital and Yum China Holdings, Inc. purchased Pizza Hut from Yum! Brands, a deal Yum! confirmed in a June press release. Yum! CEO Chris Turner framed the sale as a growth opportunity, calling the transition the start of a new chapter.
Now under new ownership, Pizza Hut is leaning into its NFL partnership with a lighthearted twist. Starting this season, which spans Sept. 9, 2026 through Jan. 10, 2027, the chain is asking customers to drop “Pizza” and just say “Hut.”
“You can just call us HUT for the next 25 weeks,” the company posted on social media.
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Signage at multiple locations reflects the switch. At the Plano, Texas headquarters, a football graphic obscures “Pizza” on the store’s exterior sign. Another location replaced the logo on two signs with football images, leaving “Hut Hut” — a nod to the timing cue quarterbacks call before a play.
The chain rounded out the campaign digitally, updating its social media profile pictures to a version of its logo with “Pizza” removed. The shortened branding is expected to stick around until the NFL season wraps in ealry 2027.
“This is a playful, limited activation deployed at select Pizza Hut locations, designed as a fun nod to our longtime role in football traditions,” a Pizza Hut spokesperson told PEOPLE.
“‘Hut’ is part of football vernacular and, of course, it’s always been part of ours, so bringing the two together felt like a natural and memorable way to celebrate the season,” the spokesperson continued. “This creative take on our signage is simply a reminder to football fans that game day starts with ‘Hut.’”
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