Almonds Go Prime Time at the Super Bowl

Sports superstar Deion Sanders touts the nut’s nutritional benefits on Radio Row.

Pro sports superstar Deion Sanders is in his second season hyping California almonds, and his efforts have taken him to this past weekend’s Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Sanders, a former pro football and baseball player who is now the head football coach at the University of Colorado, spoke on behalf of California’s popular tree nut at one of the NFL’s most high-profile events, Radio Row.

This is the second straight year he appeared in the coveted media event after giving the Almond Board of California a presence at last year’s big game in Las Vegas.

He spent hours in back-to-back interviews with prominent sports outlets and lifestyle media, discussing his connection to California almonds. His appearances last year included a segment on ESPN’s First Take, where he shared a snack pack of almonds with host Stephen A. Smith.

“You can’t achieve your prime unless you put in the work – daily!” Sanders said in a statement provided to Farm Press by the Almond Board. “In order to be your best, you gotta recover with the right stuff. It’s all about consistency! I’m partnering with California almonds to share how almonds help me stay prime all the time. It don’t stop, baby!”

The Almond Board contracted with Sanders, nicknamed Prime Time, in 2023 to promote almonds during football season, and brought him back for another year in 2024. The marketing program encourages consumers to “own their prime” through physical fitness and the consumption of almonds.

Among other things, Sanders promotes almonds to help improve recovery from exercise, based on a study finding that participants experienced reduced post-exercise fatigue and higher levels of leg and lower back strength. The Almond Board cites David Nieman, professor and principal investigator at Appalachian State University, as suggesting that almonds are a food for fitness because of their level of good unsaturated fats, vitamin E and polyphenols.

Multi-faceted strategy

Sanders has been the centerpiece of a multi-faceted influencer strategy that includes social-media content as well as traditional advertising. Sanders wasn’t the first athlete enlisted by the Almond Board; former Olympic beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings and U.S. women’s soccer player Julie Ertz had stints as almond pitch people.

But Sanders’ spots and posts have generated 10 times as many media impressions as any previous Almond Board spokesperson, its leaders said at the Almond Conference in December.

“We are on a mission to make sure the world knows how nutritionally dense our little kernels are,” Board President and CEO Clarice Turner said at the conference.

Securing a spot for Sanders on Radio Row was a boon for Laura Morin, the Almond Board’s Director of Global Marketing Development for North America and China. She said it’s a “dream” for many public-relations professionals to land a spot on the coveted platform.

“You can tell almonds are now part of Sanders’ life,” Morin said. “He speaks about them so naturally and genuinely. It’s not just about the partnership – it’s about how almonds fit into his everyday routine and how he uses them to stay at the top of his game.

Americans eat an estimated 3 million pounds of nuts, including almonds, on Super Bowl Sunday, according to TigerFitness, a nutritional supplement distributor.

Sanders, 57, played for five National Football League and four Major League Baseball teams – including separate stints with San Francisco’s 49ers and Giants, respectively – from 1989-2025. He went to eight Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls, including one with the 49ers, in his Pro Football Hall of Fame career.

An outfielder in baseball, he was the only athlete to ever play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

There is no question that Deion Sanders is a high-profile spokesperson, capable of drawing attention to a product like almonds. He has access to plenty of other high-profile venues that most of us could only dream of having. Kudos to the California Almond Board for engaging Deion to promote their product. It sounds as though it comes naturally to him and is actually a product he uses and believes in. And that leads me to a point I want to make about your CAD membership. Be sure everyone at your dealership who interacts with farm/ranch customers understands what it means for you to be a CAD member. And take time to educate them on all the benefits and programs offered as part of your membership – things like AgPack®, CADFI, CAD Protect, AgRally, AGwagon Trucks, and the list goes on!