By Jacob Gurvis
Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff has become a household name for Jewish sports fans this season. The Jewish California native led the Cougars to a 10-2 record and top-25 national ranking, all while proudly wearing his Jewish identity on his sleeve at the LDS flagship university in Provo, Utah.
Now, Retzlaff, BYU’s first Jewish starting QB, is the first athlete to sign a sponsorship deal with none other than Manischewitz, the Jewish food company.
The deal — brokered through the NCAA’s NIL (name, image, likeness) policy, which allows college athletes to profit from their personal brands — will include special-edition Retzlaff-branded matzah, as well as social media content featuring recipes and other Jewish holiday traditions.
“Manischewitz has always been part of my life,” Retzlaff said in a press release.
“I grew up with matzo with peanut butter as my favorite snack, and every Passover, my family and I made matzo pizza together. At Chanukah time our tradition was making potato latkes.
“Now, at BYU, I’m able to share these traditions with my teammates. This partnership is about more than football — it’s about creating connections and celebrating Jewish pride in ways I never expected.”
In sports news, goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, a star of Israel’s national team, made his season debut Dec. 3 for Bayern Munich, the powerhouse German squad he joined as a backup last year. Peretz entered the game after starting goalie Manuel Neuer received a red card, and played 70 minutes. Despite losing 1-0, Peretz said it was “a great feeling to play for this great club and to do so in front of these fantastic fans.”
Bayern Munich has a deep Jewish history. Kurt Landauer, the early team president who set its championship’s standard, was a German Jew who was imprisoned in Dachau the day after Kristallnacht. Following his release after 33 days, he fled to Switzerland.
Landau had received an Iron Cross for his service in WW I, which some speculate is why he was releases from the Nazi concentration camp.
At goalkeeper, Peretz is continuing FC Bayern’s Jewish tradition — Landau played the same position for its second (backup) team in the very early 20th century.
