Who Is The NFL Football Player In Verizon's myPlan Commercial & What Other Ads Has He Done?

With the 2023 NFL season here, the nation's most telegenic football players are back on TV shilling for Subway, Frito-Lay, and other game-day-friendly brands. But there's a crucial question to consider: How exactly are fans supposed to watch the games?

A new Verizon ad answers that question with their myPlan package, a feature that bundles a Verizon membership with free access to NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. In the 30-second TV spot, a desperate Arizona Cardinals fan resorts to watching his neighbor's TV from the bushes outside. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen pops up alongside him, explaining the deal. When the homeowner spots them, they recede into the bushes, Homer Simpson style.

Among other NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes and Julian Edelman, Allen has become a familiar face in the advertising circuit ever since he signed with Creative Artists Agency in 2018 — the same year the Bills selected Allen as the 7th overall pick in the NFL Draft. He's also the cover athlete for "Madden NFL 24."

Along with his rocket right arm that propelled the Bills to four consecutive postseason appearances, Allen has been commended for his commercial viability. "He's a magnet," Jody Lomeo, the president and CEO of Kaleida Health, with whom Allen collaborates as a spokesperson, told Buffalo News. "The more successful he is, obviously, on the field, [and] the more successful and genuine people see him off the field, the better it is for us. We're not shying away from that."

Since 2018, Josh Allen has appeared in several ads, especially in his adopted hometown of Buffalo. There, he can be seen in commercials for West Herr, a Western New York-based auto dealership group, alongside Steve Tasker, Dion Dawkins, and Dawson Knox.

Allen has also signed many endorsement deals, including with New Era and Nike. "It was a dream of mine to be a Nike athlete, seeing commercials of Kobe [Bryant] and being a West Coast kid," Allen said in the same Buffalo News piece. Other sponsorships, he admits, provide an opportunity to razz on another team's fanbase. In 2022, Allen became the new face of Gillette Razors — the company that secured the naming rights to the New England Patriots stadium in 2002. In a post-game interview, Allen couldn't help but troll his division rival's fanbase.

"We're in Gillette Stadium," he said. "I'm a Gillette guy, so maybe I gotta clean up [my beard] a little bit." He continued, "I think people understand that, I kinda took that Gillette, you know it's a great sponsor to have, but I know where this stadium's at, right? I know who plays here. The fans here. Means a lot, means a lot."

Still, Allen's marketing career is about more than trolling. He serves as a spokesperson for the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo and regularly appears in ads to support fundraising. As part of his New Era ambassadorship, he helped design a cap that benefitted the hospital.