One Ex-NFL Player Loved Culver's Fast Food So Much It Named A Meal After Him

JJ Watt is a former NFL defensive end who played mostly with the Houston Texans. However, he's a Wisconsinite through and through, having grown up in the state. So, it's not too surprising that he's a massive Culver's fan — it is, after all, a beloved Midwestern burger chain that was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin. In fact, Watt loves Culver's so much that the restaurant named a meal after him.

The meal, dubbed JJ's Way, featured a Culver's Deluxe with a side of the chain's beloved cheese curds. To wash everything down, it included Culver's Signature Root Beer (here's why Culver's root beer tastes different from other brands). And let's not forget dessert — the meal also came with a creamy turtle sundae (easily one of the best Culver's frozen custard flavors).

However, JJ's Way was only available for a short time, from August 5 through September 9, 2024. Thankfully, the chain's offerings are made to order and customizable. So, if you missed out on JJ's Way, all of the items are standard on the Culver's menu. That means you can build your own, save for subbing out chocolate custard on the turtle sundae (it usually comes with vanilla).

In a Culver's promo video on YouTube, JJ Watt shared how his love of Culver's goes back to childhood when he ate there after football games. This tradition carried on into his adult years, even while training for the NFL draft. Watt said he used to swing by the Culver's near his training facility for a bite on Fridays, explaining in the video that "it kind of gave me that sense of home." 

Watt's experience over the years led to the creation of the JJ's Way meal. "I've been eating at Culver's since I was a little kid," Watt said in the video. "This, after 35 years, is what I have come up with as my favorite order." The meal may have been a solid go-to Culver's order, but it wasn't particularly unique.

One comment on Reddit pointed this out, saying, "Isn't it literally just a deluxe with cheese curds and a soda lmao not even a little modifier to make it special?" In another Reddit thread prompting workers to share how popular the meal was at their stores, most comments suggest that it simply wasn't. Regardless of whether we consider this a failed campaign or not, the JJ's Way collab set out to raise money for a good cause, with $1 for every purchase going to the JJ Watt Foundation, an organization focused on after-school athletic programs for kids.