George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers starred in advertising in 2026 for “MUG Brotein,” a concoction available at certain stores that’s made from vanilla-protein shake and MUG Root Beer. (PepsiCo Beverages U.S.)
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers starred in advertising in 2026 for “MUG Brotein,” a concoction available at certain stores that’s made from vanilla-protein shake and MUG Root Beer. (PepsiCo Beverages U.S.)
Professional football players credit many things for their success. Hard work. Determination. Faith in a higher power.
A “novel milk permeate solution” that has “better hydration compared to both water and Gatorade” and also a “decreased cumulative urine output.”
Wait, what?
That would be the scientific research behind GoodSport, a commercial sports drink enjoyed by former San Francisco 49ers player Ronnie Lott. The four time Super Bowl-winning icon has so much love for this beverage that he reportedly invested in the company, gaining a stake in the future of filtering milk into electrolyte-rich, oral-hydration solutions.
Lott is far from alone the only person connected with the 49ers to dabble in the drinks world. Championing one’s favorite beverage seems as natural a part of football as tackles and touchdowns.
Beverage companies that current and former San Francisco 49ers are involved with, photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Beverage companies that current and former San Francisco 49ers are involved with, photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
There are different degrees of involvement, of course. Some people go with endorsements and TV commercials, like tight end George Kittle, who this year starred in an ad for a protein-soda concoction called Mug Brotein. Others invest in a company or even start their own – like 49ers co-owners Jenna and Mara York, who make their own Napa vino under the label JennaMarise Wines.
For all-in stakes, it’s hard to beat former 49ers’ player Vernon Davis. At one time the league’s highest-paid tight end, Davis went on to own a chain of brick-and-mortar Jamba Juice stores in Northern California and the Washington, D.C. area. The franchise owner went so far as to go “undercover” at one of his Jamba Juices in Santa Clara for an internet video, asking a customer, “Have you seen Vernon Davis come through here? I heard he was really nice.”
From Joe Montana’s canned cocktails to caffeinated Gatorade, here are seven beverages with interesting ties to the San Francisco 49ers.
MUG Brotein
Would you dare drink a foamy and protein-rich cocktail called “Mug Brotein”? Maybe that’s why you aren’t in the NFL, and George Kittle is a star.
This spring saw the San Francisco 49ers tight end featuring in a commercial for Mug Root Beer, which attempted to go viral by introducing a drink called “Mug Brotein” – a DIY mixture of Mug Zero Sugar and vanilla-protein shake. Kittle appears as a literally mouse-sized beta male who transforms into a Norse god of the gym, able to pump huge weights with one hand, by chugging some Mug Brotein. Informs the ad: “It’s protein for bros.”
This odd concoction seeks to capitalize on the dirty-soda craze – sodas adulterated with cream or syrups – with a “dirty-protein” twist. “Kittle, who is known for his love of root beer, believes this product allows fans to enjoy their workout and their favorite drink simultaneously,” according to Food & Beverage Magazine.
Folks who want to try it themselves can mix up a batch at home, or go with kits available at Walmart and the TikTok shop. They cost $25 and come with bottles of the necessary liquids, a gym bag and a towel. But before you purchase one, heed the ad copy: “Warning: This product may result in Big Dawg energy.”
Fast Twitch
FAST TWITCH drink photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
FAST TWITCH drink photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
In 2023, Gatorade launched a smaller version of its classic plastic bottle containing a formula that supposedly boosted athletic performance – B vitamins, electrolytes, zero sugar and an amazing 200 mg of caffeine. Yes, Fast Twitch held as much caffeine as a can of Celsius, the drink that gives you jitters unless you sip it all day. The company billed it as “the first energy drink made for athletes,” and struck a deal with the NFL that saw it advertised during play on the sidelines.
Three years later, it’s almost impossible to find Fast Twitch outside of eBay ($11 per 350 milliliter bottle) or the dust-covered shelves of certain bodegas and gas stations. That must leave a hole in the heart of George Kittle, tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, who had signed on as a brand ambassador along with Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills and DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks.
“With regards to Fast Twitch, what we’re seeing is that more and more athletes are drinking caffeine and then also hydrating during the game or before the game or at the end of the game,” PepsiCo chairman Ramon Laguarta said when the drink first launched, according to MediaPost.
That could be so, but regardless they’re not drinking Fast Twitch much anymore. Reddit remains one of the few places to remember this antiquated beverage. “Gatorade screwed up by putting these in a plastic bottle. Energy drinks are 12 or 16 oz. aluminum cans. Had the product been in cans, it might still be with us,” writes one user. Quips another: “If you really want some, there’s plenty at your local dump.”
BODYARMOR
BODYARMOR drinks photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
BODYARMOR drinks photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The drink so powerful it MUST BE SPELLED IN CAPS (a fairly common tic in the sports-drink realm), BODYARMOR is a line of Coca-Cola beverages with different formulations for different needs – hydration, energy, electrolyte replenishment and so forth. The company professes to not use artificial colors, dyes or sweeteners, and its flagship sports drink relies on trendy coconut water.
“Real ingredients that energize,” reads the product marketing. “Techniques that push limits. Recovery that actually works. Hydration that fuels instead of taking away.”
A couple of players with the San Francisco 49ers have signed on with BODYARMOR. As early as 2014, the Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman – who would go on to become cornerback for the 49ers – struck an endorsement deal that gave him equity in the company, according to Forbes. (Sherman was quite the savvy businessman back then, having already scored endorsements with Nike, Microsoft and the Campbell’s Company, maker of canned soup.)
In 2020, future 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey made a large endorsement deal with BODYARMOR. A couple of years later, the company released a special Fruit Punch bearing his likeness and autograph, which was only available in the Bay Area.
“It makes it really easy and it benefits my life,” he told Fox Business, “getting BODYARMOR to send me stuff is not only helping me, but also, I get to teach the next generation and endorse a product that I think is going to help, not just other athletes on my team but the future – the kids in high school, the kids in middle school.”
RECOVER 180
Sure, your sports drink has A-to-Z vitamins and enough electrolytes to power a tractor battery. But is it… organic?
With RECOVER 180, athletes can finally say “yes.” Founded by so-called “beverage-industry visionary” Lance Collins – of Fuze and Core Hydration fame – the drink mixes organic coconut water with various nutrients and erythritol, a “naturally occurring sugar alcohol found in some fruits and fermented foods,” according to the company. The beverage comes in flavors like Orange Cream, Tropical Ice and Rocket Pop, a reference to those fun red-white-and-blue Bomb Pops.
In 2024, San Francisco 49ers quaterback Brock Purdy officially partnered with the brand and filmed a commercial throwing a football and enjoying a contemplative nip off a bottle. A subsequent ad starring the quarterback riffed on the San Francisco-centric TV intro to “Full House,” with the brand declaring: “In my house we hydrate better!”
Purdy appears to have a thing for low-sugar beverages. A few years back, he was named “Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week” for his stunning performance against the Washington Commanders. He’s also an investor in Yerbae, a zero-sugar and plant-based energy drink that he personally declared a “game changer.”
BLK & Bold Coffee
Professional football player Deion Sanders poses with coffee from BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages, a company that he co-owns. (Courtesy of BLK & Bold)
Professional football player Deion Sanders poses with coffee from BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages, a company that he co-owns. (Courtesy of BLK & Bold)
Deion Sanders – the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series, a former 49er and the current head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder – now has one more title to add to the list: co-owner of a coffee brand.
Since 2024, Sanders, also known as “Coach Prime,” has been a partner and co-owner at BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages, a Black-owned coffee brand with a social mission. The Certified B Corporation pledges 5 percent of gross profits to nonprofits supporting underserved youth in the U.S. These include Acta Non Verba in Oakland, an urban farming nonprofit, and Sunset Youth Services in San Francisco, a youth support agency.
The brand, which was founded by Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson in 2018, started out as a garage operation and online store before expanding into major chains, including Albertsons, Target, Amazon and Walmart.
“Joining BLK & Bold is more than just a business move for me — it’s about making a lasting impact,” Sanders said in a press statement.
G.O.A.T. Fuel
GOAT Fuel photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
GOAT Fuel photographed in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Hall-of-Famer and 49ers legend Jerry Rice has teamed up with his daughter, Jaqui Rice Gold, and son-in-law Trevion Gold, to co-found a new energy drink, which launched in January.
So what’s in it? Maybe it’s easier to start with what’s not in it: “No artificial sweeteners. No artificial flavors. No artificial colors,” the website says, “JUST GREATNESS.”
The beverage so far comes in six flavors: black-cherry ginger ale, tropical mixed berry, watermelon fruit punch, blueberry lemonade, pineapple cream soda and gummy bear, and feature electrolytes, 150 milligrams of caffeine from green tea, lion’s mane and beetroot-juice powder, and assorted vitamins and minerals.
The beverage was out of stock on a recent online shopping visit, but promises on its website to restock “to continue fueling you on your path to greatness.”
Double Gold
Legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana poses with a can of Double Gold, a new canned whiskey he made in collaboration with Gold Bar Whiskey, at Gold Bar's distillery and tasting room on Treasure Island. (Courtesy Gold Bar Whiskey)
Legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana poses with a can of Double Gold, a new canned whiskey he made in collaboration with Gold Bar Whiskey, at Gold Bar’s distillery and tasting room on Treasure Island. (Courtesy Gold Bar Whiskey)
What pairs better with a Niners game than sipping on a whiskey mule twist straight from the mind of Joe Cool himself?
The beverage, initially called the Golden Joe, used to only be available at Levi’s Stadium, and was the official cocktail of the 49ers. But now, thanks to a partnership between Joe Montana and Gold Bar Distillery, it’s available as a canned cocktail called the Double Gold.
Sold in six-packs of 12-ounce cans, each in Niners colors featuring Montana, the 8 percent ABV drink blends Gold Bar whiskey, ginger, lime juice and a splash of orange juice.
People can also order a commemorative bottle of 85-proof bourbon made to celebrate the 49ers’ 1985 championship win, which comes with a gold jacket koozie that fits around the cans.
Montana has a whole whiskey collection with Gold Bar, including Blend 117, which represents Montana’s total career regular-season wins and is aged for 16 years in recognition of his jersey number 16; and Blend 273, which represents his career touchdown passes.