Ohio State offensive lineman Paris Johnson releases NIL-driven Paris' Cut jerky

Paris Johnson started with a simple idea.

The Ohio State offensive lineman and his family enjoy eating jerky. It’s also tasty, healthy snack. And he wanted to create an NIL opportunity that would help promote his brand but also aligned with something he actually cared about.

So, when Johnson and his NIL representation approached Powell, Ohio, based Charqui Jerky in September, Matt Salts was in. The founder of the jerky company had never thought he would be able to work with an Ohio State football player of Johnson’s stature.

“Paris, and his family, too, they genuinely love jerky,” Salts told On3 in a phone interview this week. “They eat it, they’re fans of jerky. So, when they reached out, it was an authentic opportunity. They enjoyed the products.”

Since launching in 2016, the company has been able to align with a handful of partners, including the Memorial Tournament. But landing an opportunity like this was not on Salts’ radar.

Collaborating on a product together, Johnson and Charqui Jerky have released Paris’ Cut. The jerky officially launched on Wednesday. Along with being available on the company’s online store and Amazon, the snack will be available at all Giant Eagle locations in central Ohio plus all United Dairy Farmers locations.

A semifinalist for the Outland Trophy this past fall, Johnson was one of the top offensive tackles coming out of high school. He then reshuffled inside to guard for the 2021 season before jumping out to left tackle in his final season at Ohio State, leading an offensive line that allowed 12 sacks in 13 games this season, too.

He is now preparing for the NFL draft.

“It’s pretty humbling,” Salts said. “I started this company in 2016. And you just really don’t know, right you have a business plan but you don’t know how the public is going to react, how it’s going to be received, and where it’s going to take you. There are some strategic partnerships we have that kind of gave us the confidence to be able to pull off something like this.

“It’s pretty humbling to work with someone who is as good of a person as Paris and his family are. And it’s pretty humbling that we’ve built something to get to this level.”

Creating signature flavor for Paris Johnson

Salts had a few ideas of what flavor profile the jerky would have, but he opted to start with a simple tactic. He sent a simple barbecue flavor to the Johnsons for their thoughts.

“We had, had a barbecue flavor in the past before we kind of reconfigured our branding and our imagery, and we just hadn’t relaunched it yet,” Salts said. “So we took it to him and said, ‘Here’s the flavor profile, this is kind of what it would taste like. But do you have input? Do you like it spicy or do you like it sweeter?'”

After a few taste tests, the decision was made to make the jerky smokier and a little sweeter. After making another batch and getting the final approval, Paris’ Cut was created.

Start of a long-term partnership

While some athletes have rushed to sign the first car deal possible or promote a product for free merchandise, Johnson has created the Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation.

He was named the recipient of this year’s Armed Forces Merit Award back in November, given to an individual and/or a group with a military background and/or involvement that has an impact within the realm of college football. Since the foundation’s launch, the nonprofit has held a winter coat drive, a Christmas gift drive and an event for homeless veterans.

From there, he started to think through what deals and brands he would want to be associated with him. That’s what eventually led him to work with Charqui Jerky.

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed to On3, there is a charitable component of the partnership. Roughly 10 percent of the proceeds will be going to the Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation and 2nd & 7. Since Johnson launched his foundation, he has raised more than $10,000 for five different charities and served over 100 veterans.

The 2nd & 7 foundation was started by former Buckeyes Ryan Miller, Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel. With a mission of promoting reading, it also raises money to provide free books and role models for kids.

While the jerky is set to be available through the NFL Draft in May, it does not mark an end to the partnership. What started as a NIL deal during his time at Ohio State has turned into a marketing agreement around the draft. But Salts envisions a relationship that could be rebranded depending on where Paris Johnson lands in the NFL.

“I think this will be our building block,” he said. “And you know, wherever Paris goes, there could be more opportunities. Obviously, we want to have that great relationship. But we could replicate this in Pittsburgh, for example.”