Aflac replaces Chick-fil-A as sponsor for Week 1's yearly neutral site game in Atlanta

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is no more. Aflac is the new title sponsor of the yearly Week 1 kickoff game held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The news was reported Tuesday by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Sports Business Journal.

This year’s game features an ACC matchup between Georgia Tech and Louisville.

The game was first held 2008 with a game between Alabama and Clemson at the Georgia Dome. Chick-fil-A was the sponsor of that first game, and had been the main sponsor for every game since then.

The Crimson Tide have appeared in the game seven times and have a perfect 7-0 record.

Nine matchups in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game history featured both teams ranked in the preseason top 25. The best — on-paper — game was between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Florida State in 2017. The Crimson Tide won the game, 24-7.

But the best game in the history of the series might have come two days later when Tennessee and the Yellow Jackets battled on a Monday night. The Volunteers edged out a 42-41 victory in double overtime.

Atlanta’s Aflac Kickoff Game will continue to be one of the biggest games of the year

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has been associated with some of the best games on the football calendar for over a decade and that won’t be set to chance with Aflac as the new sponsor.

The 2024 game will feature two of the best programs of the past decade in Clemson and Georgia.

In 2025, there will be two Aflac Kickoff Games played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The first game will be played between Tennessee and Syracuse. The second game will see South Carolina and Virginia Tech go head to head.

However, this year’s matchup is not projected to be one of the best games of the weekend. On3’s Mike Huguenin did not include it in his top 10 games of Week 1. His top choice was a matchup between Florida State and LSU.

“This is the other opening-week matchup involving teams that each won at least 10 games in 2022,” Huguenin wrote. “LSU was 10-4, Florida State 10-3. FSU edged LSU 24-23 in 2022. It figures to be a match of preseason top-10 teams; at worst, it will be two teams in the preseason top 15. Both return quarterbacks coming off big seasons: LSU’s Jayden Daniels and FSU’s Jordan Travis. Both return defenders in line for big seasons: LSU LB Harold Perkins and FSU DE Jared Verse. And both also look to have hit it big in the transfer portal. In short, this is a big one and well-suited for a prime-time spot on Sunday night.”