TOP Chops Becomes Official Beef Jerky Partner of Perfect Game

Perfect Game Founder and President, Jerry Ford today announced TOP Chops Beef Jerky has joined Perfect Game's growing family of national sponsors, by becoming exclusive beef jerky partner of the world's largest youth baseball and softball organization. 

TOP Chops becomes the official beef jerky of Perfect Game, the world's largest youth baseball and softball organization.

Through this exclusive, multiyear partnership, TOP Chops becomes the official beef jerky of Perfect Game and joins Oakley and YETI as two of Perfect Game's most recent corporate marketing and sponsorship partners.

TOP Chops, a Lebanon, GA-based company, also becomes the naming-rights sponsor of Perfect Game's newly renovated, state-of-the-art, Marietta, GA facility, now known as the TOP Chops East Cobb Complex. The historic TOP Chops East Cobb Complex is positioned to become the premier youth baseball and softball facility in the southeast and a must-visit destination for travel baseball and softball families up and down the east coast.

Additionally, the charitable and philanthropic efforts of both Perfect Game and TOP Chops will become intertwined as TOP Chops becomes a benefactor of the Perfect Game Cares foundation and its Grow the Game Fund, while Perfect Game has committed its support to TOP Chops' Stampede Races across America to help stamp out childhood hunger.

"I want to personally thank TOP Chops founder, Dusty Jaquins, for joining the Perfect Game family of corporate partners - best-in-class consumer products companies that share our passion for providing hundreds of thousands of children and their families with unapparelled youth baseball and softball experiences," stated Jerry Ford. "As someone who considers himself a jerky connoisseur and has sampled every brand on the market, I can say without a doubt that TOP Chops is best in its class. We look forward to developing a long and mutually beneficial relationship, and I am confident the partnership will help TOP Chops enhance its national reputation and brand visibility by connecting with millions of passionate baseball and softball fans, including the 6-18-year-olds who participate in our events, their families and those watching on PerfectGame.TV. Together with its partners, Perfect Game is able to grow the games of baseball and softball throughout the world, including in underserved communities."

"Partnering with Perfect Game and the PG Cares Foundation presents TOP Chops with the unique opportunity to introduce our products to a massive audience of families and children of all ages at their passion points – baseball and softball," said TOP Chops Founder and CEO, Dusty Jaquins. "We truly have hit a grand slam with this partnership, as I can't think of a better way to showcase our unique blend of beef jerky as a healthy alternative snack than to get the product into the hands of those who can truly enjoy its benefits. Perhaps the best part of this partnership is the ability to join PG Cares in helping children from underserved communities fall in love with baseball and softball and working together to increase the impact of our TOP Chops Stampede to stamp out childhood hunger."

"We are incredibly honored to welcome such an amazing partner into the Perfect Game and Perfect Game Cares family. From our very first introduction, we knew how deeply aligned our businesses were, with a heavy focus on helping children from across America who deserve real and substantial opportunities to pursue their dreams," stated Perfect Game Vice President of Partnerships and Perfect Game Cares Foundation Executive Director, Jennifer Ford. "With the support of TOP Chops, Perfect Game Cares will help thousands of children learn important life skills that can be gained through sports and physical activity. We're also looking forward to helping TOP Chops in its efforts to stamp out childhood hunger through its Stampede Races."

Specific terms of the partnership agreement were not disclosed. The relationship and subsequent agreement between Perfect Game and TOP Chops was cultivated by Atlanta-based sponsorship and naming rights agency, Trenches Sports & Entertainment. 

TOP Chops joins Oakley, YETI, Next College Student, Vuk Gripz and The Texas Baseball Ranch as partners joining the Perfect Game family of sponsors since early March.

For more information, please visit Perfect Game, Perfect Game Cares Foundation, TOP Chops and Trenches Consulting.

About Perfect Game

Perfect Game is the world's largest elite youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, producing over 8,600+ events, 300,000+ games and showcases each year across the country. Perfect Game is dedicated to giving amateur players exposure to take their game to the next level, whether that be in college or in the professional ranks. Perfect Game also has launched its own broadcast channel, PerfectGame.TV, where it has already produced more than 10,000 hours of amateur baseball content. At Perfect Game events, players are performing with top-level competition in front of college recruiters and professional scouts from all over the country. Because of this, these events prove to be invaluable to the college coaches as well as Major League Baseball, as they can scout a large population of talented ballplayers in one location. To date, more than 1,500 players that have played in a Perfect Game event have also played in Major League Baseball. Since 2003, 12,776 Perfect Game alumni have been selected in the MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft. In the 2020 Draft, for example, 93 percent of all players selected had played in Perfect Game events, and all but one player selected on the Draft's first day had previously attended Perfect Game events. And in the 2019 College World Series, every player on the roster of national champion Vanderbilt and all but one on the runner-up Michigan roster had played in a Perfect Game event.

About Perfect Game Cares

The Perfect Game Cares Foundation, Inc. began in 2003 as The PG Foundation, Inc., when PG Founder and President Jerry Ford decided that the success of Perfect Game created a platform to give back. Perfect Game has helped raise over $3 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Rady Children's Hospital, Golisano Children's Hospital, the Toby Keith Foundation's OK Kids Korral, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, and the Boys and Girls Club. In 2018, the Foundation expanded its footprint to become the Perfect Game Cares Foundation with its largest initiative to date—empowering and supporting America's underserved youth. Visit www.perfectgamecares.org for more information.

About TOP Chops

TOP Chops Jerky was founded in 2013 by Dusty Jaquins. After a couple years of developing recipes and gaining proof of concept by selling to convenience stores and independent markets in North Georgia, Dusty decided to work with a couple of college students, and together they decided to take what was just a hobby and turn it into a nationwide snack company. Today, TOP Chops manufactures a range of jerky snacks using only USDA Select or better beef and all-natural ingredients with no preservatives. Along the way, TOP Chops was awarded a fellowship at the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute because of the market potential envisioned by the leadership of the Institute. TOP Chops was also accepted into the inaugural class of the Chobani Food Incubator. Throughout this six-month incubation program, the team worked with Chobani staff to gain insight and mentorship from its sales, marketing, PR, product development and quality assurance teams. TOP Chops has also partnered with Culinex, a premier food science company to enhance its recipes. Culinex was tasked with maintaining TOP Chops' flavor profiles while using different and healthier ingredients, while maintaining the same texture and tender nature of its jerky. TOP Chops has grown into a national brand with an increased retail footprint that includes major retailers such as Albertsons, Safeway, Ralphs, Raley's, Roche Bros, Target, Costco NE and online at Amazon. TOP Chops is in the process of vertically integrating its operations and is currently completing a new facility in Georgia, where it will be producing its own products instead of utilizing the services of co-packers. For more information, please visit TOPChops.com.