Via iStockphoto / @taylor_fritz TikTok/@esquiresports TikTok
Elite athletes are famously, perhaps notoriously, careful about what they put in their bodies. Every carb, every gram of protein, every bit of fat and sugar is often part of a careful calculus designed to elicit peak performance.
Or is it?
A brand partnership Chipotle has with professional and collegiate athletes is spotlighting what they eat. And for some of them, their preferences are coming across as particularly strange.
Michael Mockler (@esquiresports) is a podcaster and influencer who shares his often irreverent takes on sports and sports-adjacent news. In September, Mockler posted a TikTok about the brand partnership Chipotle has with athletes. Through this partnership, Chipotle sells bowls comprising the sports figures’ presumed order.
Mockler calls this “fascinating” and “one of the most interesting partnerships in sports.” To him, it’s also high-key hilarious.
“To me there’s probably nothing funnier than the concept of walking into a Chipotle and asking a minimum wage employee, ‘Hey can I get the D.J. Lagway carne asada bowl to go?’ And they say to you, ‘Sorry, that’s mobile order only,’” Mockler says. (According to multiple sources, Chipotle pays its workers more than minimum wage.)
What Are Athletes Eating At Chipotle?
Chipotle has been doing these brand partnerships with athletes since at least 2020.
Mockler told BroBible that the athlete bowls caught his attention when he was ordering Chipotle recently. His video about it has garnered over 1 million views.
“I saw the ‘D.J. Lagway bowl,’” he explained via email. “I thought this was funny as D.J. Lagway is a very talented and highly touted young QB who just happened to be coming off the worst week of his career.”
The athletes and their orders:
D.J. Lagway, University of Florida: carne asada bowl with brown rice, queso blanco, fresh tomato salsa, lettuce, and a side of chips and queso blanco. $17.60, 1,390 calories
Caleb Downs, The Ohio State University: carne asada and chicken bowl with half of each protein, white rice, black beans, fajita veggies, queso blanco, cheese, and lettuce. $13.20, 810 calories
Jase Richardson, Orlando Magic: chicken bowl with white rice, black beans, cheese, and sour cream. $9.15, 740 calories
James Hagens, Boston Bruins prospect: chicken bowl with white rice, roasted chili-corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and guacamole. $13.15 (calories not listed)
Ryan Blaney, NASCAR: chicken and steak burrito bowl with half of each protein, brown rice, black beans, tomato-red chili salsa, queso blanco, cheese, and guacamole. $15.55, 995 calories
Taylor Fritz, tennis player: chicken bowl with white rice, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. $14.30, 840 calories
Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia Flyers: MVP bowl with chicken, brown rice, cheese, roasted chili-corn salsa, and guacamole. $9.50, 810 calories
Over the years, it’s featured male and female athletes who compete in a wide variety of sports—from skateboarding to golf and everything in between.
This year, Chipotle expanded its collegiate athlete partnerships. It’s giving free food to athletes at Ohio State and the University of Florida throughout their seasons.
What Do People Think Of Athletes’ Chipotle Bowls?
While the brand partnership isn’t unprecedented, Mockler doesn’t think it’ll make much of an impact.
Mockler describes some of their orders as “bad” things he “would never” eat. He also says, “A lot of these featured bowls come from people that the average person would have no idea even exists.”
Hence, he wonders, “Would you even try your favorite athlete’s Chipotle bowl? Like is anyone such a big Taylor Fritz fan that they’re like, ‘Hey, I like brown rice and black beans, but I’m gonna get this anyways because that’s what Taylor Fritz likes?’”
“Taylor Fritz needs professional help,” user zuri commented of the tennis star’s bowl.
Fritz’s order of chicken, white rice, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole doesn’t exactly scream culinary adventure.
Jase Richardson’s extremely similar Chipotle bowl—in lieu of guacamole, he gets black beans—also took heat. One described it is as the “picky eater bowl.” Mockler elaborated, “Type of bowl you give your pitbull on its birthday.”
“I think Jase Richardson has objectively the worst bowl,” he said via email. “He’s paying a regular price but skipping out on like most of what makes us go to Chipotle. Very plain and skipping salsa and vegetables lol.”
Others took issue with the prices. “They could at least make it a good deal. It’s just normally priced too makes no sense,” commented one. A few did feel that Richardson’s and Zegras’ bowls are good deals, though. Both cost less than 10 bucks.
Several people named athletes whose orders they’d try: Pierre Gasly, Jayden Daniels, and Jeremiah Smith.
Who’s Going To Order Their Favorite Athlete’s Chipotle Bowl?
Overall, these bowls don’t seem appetizing to most. “They should be offering the athletes my order,” Hailee Jo Register suggested.
“I’ve never ordered one myself and posed the question if anyone in my audience has, and the resounding answer seems to be ‘no,’” Mockler told BroBible. “I see this for many reasons, but I think the main one is that we all know what we want at Chipotle.”
“I question if the most famous athletes/artists/celebrities would even have their most die hard fans order the bowl, because it’s just kind of silly,” he added.
Some aren’t even sure the athletes themselves order their own Chipotle bowls, either.
“Do u think they click their own featured order when they order or do custom,” anna wondered facetiously.
Dining and Cooking