Insofar as one believes “Tush Push” means different things to different folks, then the NFL might just find itself at the center of another brilliant marketing campaign.
Or not.
Either way, the famous, infamous, beloved, controversial, highly effective but rarely duplicated play the Philadelphia Eagles have ridden, in part, to two Super Bowl berths over the past three seasons, plus a resounding victory in Super Bowl 59, now has … a sponsor? Seriously. (And talk about, uh, product placement.)
Tuesday morning, DUDE Wipes became “the presenting sponsor” of the Tush Push and, in a press release, the company and Eagles say it will provide “an ongoing series of collaborative social content throughout the 2025 NFL season, product sampling at team-hosted events, and post-game radio highlighting the team’s successful Tush Pushes.”
Wondeful. Just what we needed!
The Eagles will be on the field Thursday night, hosting the Dallas Cowboys − they’ll be without Micah Parsons, previously their main DUDE − in the NFL’s 2025 regular-season kickoff game. Hopefully there are no DUDE Wipes between the lines (or elsewhere) despite how excited the reigning Super Bowl champs claim to be about their new partners.
“DUDE Wipes has built one of the most successful and marketable brands in the industry by combining innovation, creativity, and humor,” said Brian Napoli, Philadelphia’s senior VP of corporate partnerships.
“We are thrilled to welcome DUDE Wipes as a partner of the Philadelphia Eagles and look forward to having fun with their brand, both on and off the field, this season.”
In addition to its hotly debated football merits, the Tush Push had already become something of a cultural touchpoint in recent years. Is it legal? Is it actually rugby, Should it be outlawed? The play, which was the subject of an ESPYs skit this summer, received a stay of execution earlier this year when Taylor Swift’s future brother-in-law (er, former Eagles center Jason Kelce) apparently helped convince NFL owners of its merits while it was on the chopping block due to its alleged player safety hazards – though there’s no injury data supporting that. The ongoing existence of the Tush Push mostly seems in question due to the fact that Philadelphia uses it to great effect, but no other team has really figured out how to leverage it – or stop it with any measure of consistency.
But as long as Philly quarterback Jalen Hurts is burrowing headfirst into the backsides of his hulking linemen, and that resulting pile of humanity is producing first downs and touchdowns … then DUDE Wipes, which admittedly embraces an “outrageous marketing strategy and bathroom humor” is going to be there. The company already works with Tight End University, UFC, WWE, NASCAR and the Cleveland Browns, among others – famously doing a promotion around the Browns’ new all-brown helmet in July. We’ll let you connect the dots.
“It only feels right for DUDE Wipes to be the official sponsor of the Tush Push,” said Ryan Meegan, the company’s co-founder. “We’re always looking for bold and unconventional ways to inject the brand into cultural conversations in a distinctly DUDE-ified way and this partnership is a perfect fit.”
Let’s just be grateful that the “Butt Fumble” was a play the New York Jets never intended to be associated with.