A meat market in Sloan sells a super-sized burger bearing his name. A bridal shop in Hamburg put his jersey on a wedding dress in their window. Someone rechristened the whole Allentown neighborhood in his honor.
He has his own cereal, along with marketing deals with everyone from Labatt USA to West Herr Automotive Group. And a lot of what he does ties into his charitable work with John R. Oishei Children's Hospital.
If you didn’t already know, it's Josh Allen's world. We're all just living in it.
Buffalo's star quarterback had a monster season this year, setting numerous team records while leading the Bills to their first AFC East division crown in 25 years and a pair of playoff victories.
Now, with the Bills one win away from playing in the Super Bowl, Allen is getting more local, national and international attention than ever before.
People are also reading…
"He's just a genuinely good person and human being, and that makes all the difference in the world. And it comes through when he's talking to our kids and their families. They feel that connection, as does most of Buffalo," said Allegra Jaros, president of Oishei Children's Hospital. "I mean, we're just in love with him."
Allen – who, with his agent, declined comment for this article through a team spokesman – was drafted in the first round in 2018 with the expectation that he would become the franchise quarterback for a team that had searched for one for more than 20 years.
He got off to an less-than-stellar start while showing flashes of promise his first two seasons. But even his biggest fans couldn't have predicted the success he would have this year, when he set Bills records for touchdowns, passing yards and in various other categories.
It is the first time since Jim Kelly was quarterback in the 1980s and '90s that the position was in such good hands.
Kelly still appears regularly in advertising, an indication of the influence of a winning NFL quarterback, and Allen is well on his way to matching Kelly's imprint on the community.
In fact, one of Allen's longstanding relationships is with Oishei Children's Hospital, where Kelly also has lent his support for years.
"It's been really cool to see Jim, in particular, turn over the reins – happily turn over the reins – to Josh Allen," Jaros said.
Allen began volunteering with the hospital in 2018, first visiting during a Halloween event for Bills rookies. He regularly stopped by the hospital in person to meet with pediatric patients and their families, doctors, nurses and others on staff, Jaros said.
His visits, which have been virtual during the pandemic, mean a lot to children whose medical challenges can leave them depressed and frustrated, she added.
"That helps in the healing process for our kids," Jaros said.
This season, the death of Allen's grandmother, Patricia, prompted 30,000 Bills fans and other contributors to donate $1.1 million to the hospital in her memory, most in $17 increments to reflect Allen's jersey number.
Allen's cereal also partly benefits the hospital. Josh's Jaqs went on sale in the fall in an arrangement among PLB Sports & Entertainment, Allen and his agent, Wegmans and Tops Markets.
A Wegmans spokeswoman said Josh's Jaqs has been the supermarket chain's best-selling cereal in the Buffalo and Rochester markets during the football season.
OnCore Golf also gave $10,000 to Oishei Children's Hospital, money that was set aside from the sale of its Josh Allen Mafia golf balls.
The company connected with Allen after the quarterback's agent, Tee Stumb of Creative Artists Agency, reached out on Allen's behalf, said OnCore CEO Keith Blakely.
Allen is an avid golfer and was intrigued that Buffalo is home to a company that makes golf balls, Blakely said.
Allen last summer became a shareholder in OnCore and the company has sold several thousand dozens of his signature ball.
"I suspect if the Bills have two more wins, we will exceed that number by a fair amount," Blakely said, referring to a potential Super Bowl victory.
The company earned a lot of publicity when Allen wore a hat with OnCore's logo after one of this season's games, Blakely said, though some people who saw the hat wondered if it was the logo for Quiznos sandwich shops.
"It's all good," Blakely said, laughing. "We benefit from his success, for sure."
Labatt USA also had good timing to start its marketing deal with Allen, an arrangement that traces back to a chance meeting between a company rep and Allen at last season's Super Bowl in Miami, said Jaime Polisoto, a Labatt USA brand manager.
Labatt USA, which is headquartered in Buffalo, is a team sponsor and has forged a close connection to Bills fans. The NFL for the first time this season began to let beer companies reach endorsement deals with players.
Labatt USA signed up Allen and star cornerback Tre'Davious White.
"They call themselves the 'Labatt-thletes,' " Polisoto said.
The team's success helps, but that's only part of the equation, she added.
"It's the winning, yes, but it's Josh as well that just makes the partnership really resonate with people. Just very authentic," Polisoto said.
It is hard to avoid seeing Allen on TV sometimes. His commercials include the clever ads he has done for West Herr with former Bills great Steve Tasker, and others for New Wave Energy.
Bills fans are just glad to see their support of Allen through the tougher times pay off this year. In September, after the Bills got off to a roaring start, a "Josh Allen Apology Form" made the rounds on social media, a document giving people who were too quick to criticize Allen a formal way to eat their words.
By the end of the season, in addition to all the love Allen earned on Twitter and Facebook, a pizza joint on Allen Street had temporarily changed its name to Josh Allentown Pizza, and Bliss Bridal in Hamburg put his jersey over one of their display dresses.
Over at the corner of Allen and Main streets, the historic "Welcome to Allentown" gateway sign owned by the neighborhood association was plastered over with a new sign saying "Welcome to Josh Allentown."
Nicole Duffin, the Allentown Association's vice president, said it was changed without warning or permission, but the group is taking the change and the attention in stride.
The perpetrators have promised to restore the sign to its original condition. The association is letting it stay up as long as the Bills keep winning.
"We're really excited to be part of this uplifting of the community and this Bills frenzy that's going on right now," Duffin said.
Camillo's Sloan Super Market has sold the Ultimate Allen Burger since Allen's rookie season, but business has boomed this year, said Gaeton Camillo, who owns the market with his father, Dave. It is a pair of burger patties stuffed with cream cheese, smoked Gouda, aged cheddar and chopped bacon, weighing about 17 ounces in all and costing a little over $6.
He said that the store sold 300 or 400 per week during the 2019 season, but they sold 1,200 the week leading up to the Bills' wild-card playoff game Jan. 9 and another 900 the week before Saturday's divisional playoff game. He expects to do more of the same this week leading up to Sunday's AFC championship game.
"He's the MVP. He's the superstar. He's having a great year," Gaeton Camillo said.
