The idea for Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley to gift truckloads of Bud Light to his teammates was the brainchild of a local Anheuser-Busch distributor, The Post has learned.
The highly-publicized stunt last week was the latest move to rehab the brand’s image after the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco — and followed parent company Anheuser-Busch’s massive ad splurge for this year’s big game, experts said.
Barkley was filmed shot-gunning a can of beer in the Eagles’ locker room following their rout of the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.
The video of the beer-chugging Barkley went viral and a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that it inspired local distributor Penn Beer, of Hatfield, Pa., to reach out to the former Giants running back, who jumped to the hated rivals and rushed for an NFL-high 2,005 yards during the season.
“How would you like to thank your offensive linemen with beer,” Penn Beer’s owners, the Funchion family, suggested to Barkley, according to the source.
The Funchions “took great pride in this win and in Saquon, who is a Penn State alum,” the source added.
Barkley jumped at the the idea.
The day before Philly fans toasted their Eagles at the Super Bowl parade on Feb. 14, five Bud Light-branded trucks delivered the suds to Barkley’s path-clearing linemen: Cameron Jurgens, Lane Johnson, Mekhi Becton, Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson.
Each truck carried some 90 cases of Bud Light, about 2,160 cans, a few more brews than the amount of yards Barkley had amassed during his stellar regular season.
Along with the trucks, the beers were rebranded “Bird Light” to honor the Eagles as part of the PR blitz.
“It just takes a spark like this to help Bud Light come back at the local level,” Bump Williams, who runs an eponymous consulting firm, told The Post.
It’s not clear who paid the approximate $11,000 tab for the 10,800 cans of beer, but it’s likely that Anheuser-Busch covered some of the costs, Williams speculated.
“I’m sure they knew about it and helped out,” he said.
David Steinman, executive editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights, added: “It’s a nice gesture, but it’s not so splashy in terms of the actual money spent — and Saquon can certainly afford it.”
Penn Beer and Anheuser-Busch did not respond to calls for comment.
Barkley’s representatives declined comment.
Bud Light can use the positive publicity as it continues to rehab its image.
The last two years have been a financial and PR nightmare for the brand, which saw its two-decade rein as the nation’s top-selling beer come to an ignominious end in 2023 following the ill-conceived tie-up with Mulvaney.
The transgender influencer was sent a customized Bud Light tallboy featuring Mulvaney’s image that she touted while sitting in a bathtub as part of an NCAA basketball March Madness campaign.
A nationwide backlash and calls for a boycott by prominent conservatives, including Kid Rock, soon followed.
But the steep sales drop and market share decline have leveled off, Williams said.
Bud Light is currently ranked as the No. 1-selling beer by volume and third in total dollar sales, behind Modelo and Michelob Ultra, according to Bump Williams Consulting.
“We have seen a bottoming out of Bud Light losses,” Williams told The Post, adding the the Barkley PR stunt “should help.”
Anheuser-Busch has looked to turn the page on any ties to Mulvaney, buying five ads during the Super Bowl for its roster of beers — at an estimated $8 million a pop for each 30-second spot.
They included a more macho-infused commercial featuring two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Peyton Manning, comedian Shane Gillis and singer Post Malone attending a “Cul-de-Sac party.”
Barkley has supported Bud Light in other ways.
Before the Super Bowl parade, he was seen carrying a case of Bud Light while being interviewed as he boarded the Eagles bus.
“I just gotta get a little more liquid in my system before I go up there and talk,” he told the the ABC affiliate, referring to his upcoming speech to fans.
Barkley’s beer delivery, however, did not go down smoothly with a rival local Pennsylvania brewer.
David Casinelli, chief strategy office of Yuengling beer, noted that the Eagles linemen will need to crack open their gifts pretty quickly since most canned beer has a shelf life of about four months.
“It’s almost crazy,” Casinelli told The Post. “What would you do with a truckload of beer sitting in your driveway.”
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