Bradley Cooper Has Beef With Uber Eats’ Big Football Conspiracy

Some conspiracies never die, and Uber Eats wants to keep its own alive for at least another NFL season.

There’s just one problem: actor and diehard football fan Bradley Cooper is determined to debunk the brand’s wild theory that the sport was invented to sell food. Cooper is on a mission to set the record straight, because he thinks the conspiracy overshadowed his beloved Philadelphia Eagles’ victory at Super Bowl 59.

The actor’s beef with Uber Eats, the official delivery partner of the NFL, comes to life in a new campaign for the start of football season. Created by Special US, the ad will debut on Sept. 14 during the NFL’s Sunday Night Football. 

The saga began in 2024, when Uber Eats and actor Matthew McConaughey first planted the theory that the entire game of football and the NFL were an elaborate scheme to sell more food to hungry fans. 

The outlandish idea captured people’s attention—so much so, that Uber Eats brought it to a bigger stage at this year’s Super Bowl. In its fifth consecutive Big Game ad, the brand and McConaughey delved into football’s history, uncovering the covert link between the game and the culinary world. Celebrities including Kevin Bacon, Martha Stewart, and Charli XCX made cameos.

ADWEEK named it one of 2025’s Best Super Bowl Ads.

But the case isn’t closed, and Uber Eats enlisted Cooper, a passionate Eagles fan, to defend football’s legacy. 

“Last season was all about seeding the conspiracy. This year we wanted to allow football the opportunity to defend itself,” Georgie Jeffreys, Uber Eats’ head of marketing for North America, told ADWEEK. “Bradley Cooper is the perfect man to defend the sport’s honor and challenge the theory, all while bringing the same humor and energy that fans love.”

In the ad, Cooper goes on a rant debunking Uber’s conspiracy theory, before urging league officials to publicly deny it. The A-list lineup includes NFL stars Baker Mayfield, Troy Aikman, and Jerry Rice.

Along with the ad, Uber Eats will offer game day deals that will live on a dedicated hub in its app.

Winning over fans

To evolve the idea, Uber Eats and Special US decided to show fans “both sides of this ridiculous conspiracy,” said David Horton, the agency’s partner and chief creative officer.

“After the Eagles won the Super Bowl (and allegedly sold the most wings in NFL history), we loved giving Bradley Cooper the task of defending his birds and football at large,” Horton said.

So far, the conspiracy campaign has been a “big win” for Uber Eats, because it “reinforced our position as a go-to for food delivery with loyal and new audiences and gave us the creative runway to lean even further into tongue-in-cheek storytelling,” Jeffreys said.

It’s also helped link Uber Eats more closely to culture, she added. 

“Our goal is to connect with consumers in a way that feels entertaining, relevant, and unmistakably Uber Eats,” Jeffreys said. “This ties directly to our strategy of engaging consumers in the moments that matter, using distinctive creativity and humor to make an impact, while reinforcing Uber Eats’ relevance in both special occasions and everyday food moments.”