Justin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings stands on the field before an NFL football
Justin Jefferson.
Justin Jefferson says his dad’s crawfish étouffée is his go-to meal after a big game
The Vikings wide receiver prefers light pregame meals, often opting for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Jefferson stars in Pepsi’s new campaign alongside Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis and reflects on his NFL journey
Justin Jefferson is dishing on what he eats before and after an NFL game.
The Minnesota Vikings wide receiver, 27, opened up about the start of football season in an interview with PEOPLE on the set of Pepsi’s new tailgating-themed campaign.
“People that know me, I’m from Louisiana, so I love my seafood,” he says. I got to have the crawfish étouffée. That’s the big, big meal that my Pops loves to cook for me after a big game.”
“But really any seafood, shrimp, your crawfish, if we can get it, lobster, anything, really seafood,” he adds.
Crawfish étouffée, the Cajun dish made by his dad, John Jefferson, features crawfish tails in a flavorful, buttery gravy served over rice.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) greeted his s mother, Elaine, and father, John
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) greeted his s mother, Elaine, and father, John
As for his ideal pregame meal, Justin says he prefers to keep it light.
“To be honest, I don’t even really love to eat before a game,” he admits. “I more love to go more on an empty stomach. I hate kind of running on the heavy stomach. I feel like I have to throw up sometimes.”
If it’s an early afternoon game, he says he’ll simply have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However, he says he’s known to be a “big snacker.”
“I love my ice creams, love my cookies, brownies,” he says. “So that’s definitely one of my cheat meals, but I’m not really a big person on diet. I can pretty much eat what I want. I run so many miles every single day at practice, so I just burn it off.”
Justin’s dad is part of his earliest memory of Pepsi, which made the campaign an obvious fit.
“He definitely had multiple Pepsis that he always drinks and he wouldn’t finish it in the car, but as soon as I’d get in the car, I’d pick up the Pepsi and just chug it,” he remembers.
The soda brand’s “Tailgating Deserves Pepsi” commercial stars Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome “The Bus” Bettis as its “official referee of gameday flavor.”
“It’s just an honor to be with him, a Hall of Famer,” Justin says of Bettis, 54. “So that’s definitely somewhere I would like to be one of these days to have that gold jacket. So, to be partnered up with him on this set is always a big honor.”
Justin Jefferson against the Chicago Bears during the first quarter on October 09, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Justin Jefferson against the Chicago Bears during the first quarter on October 09, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Justin says his own approach to the game has “tremendously evolved” since his rookie season in 2020.
“I came in during COVID year, so a lot of uncertainty, just trying to find my way around,” he recalls. “Obviously not having preseason games, not really having a true off season, and a real beginning program into entering the league.”
In 2025, he set the NFL record as the youngest player to reach 8,000 receiving yards.
“So, to start off my career how I did, and to get the record for the receiving yards, and all of the things that I have accomplished that rookie season was so, so big time for me, and to accomplish all of those things with all of the barricades that was going on during that moment,” he adds.
While the Vikings missed the playoffs last season, Justin says the team has a different mindset going into the new one.
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“Last year is definitely not something that we wanted to happen, definitely not acceptable,” he says. “So, it’s a different grind this year, and I think we’re going to wake a lot of people up with the performance that we have.”
When Justin needs to mentally reset after a tough game, he says he relaxes with video games such as EA Sports College Football 27 and Madden NFL.
He describes his downtime as “playing with my friends, and kind of escaping reality, escaping football, escaping my life in general, and just having hours of just time to myself and to really just mentally just decompress everything.”
Throughout NFL Kickoff weekend (Sept. 9-14), fans can unlock an offer for a 12-pack of Pepsi Zero Sugar.