Pepsi® celebrates New York’s reigning champs, The New York Knicks and their fans, with “Champions Deserve Pepsi” ahead of season tip-off

PURCHASE, NY (October 5, 2026) - Today, PEPSI® and the New York Knicks are tipping off the 2026–27 season with Champions Deserve Pepsi, a new campaign honoring the team’s historic title and the fans who were there every step of the way.

Starting today, the campaign will hit shelves across New York with limited-edition 16 oz PEPSI^® x Knicks Championship cans and limited-edition 20 oz PEPSI^® and PEPSI^® Zero Sugar x Knicks bottles. Closer to the Knicks’ season tip-off at The Garden, new digital billboards featuring real fan imagery from the playoffs will hit NYC streets.

At the center of Champions Deserve Pepsi is a limited-edition 16 oz PEPSI^® x Knicks Championship can, available alongside limited-edition 20 oz PEPSI^® and PEPSI^® Zero Sugar x Knicks bottles at participating retailers across the Tri-State region. Fans can scan the QR code at point of sale for a chance to win Knicks tickets. In a nod to the 94–90 Game 5 victory that secured the 2026 Championship title, 94 fans will have a chance to visit The Garden, one for every winning point*, through an exclusive sweepstakes program.

“Once a Knick, always a Knick, but the real honor is being part of this fan base for life,” said John Starks, former New York Knicks shooting guard. “New York fans bring an energy you can’t find anywhere else, and they deserve to be at The Garden celebrating this team. I love that Pepsi is putting fans first and giving even more of them a chance to experience it for themselves.”

From outside The Garden to inside it

Throughout the playoffs, PEPSI^® put New York’s Knicks fandom front and center with Knicks Fans Deserve Pepsi, a collector-can scavenger hunt across the five boroughs, and WE OUTSIDE, a real-time campaign which turned photos of Knicks fans from games 3 and 4 into billboards across New York.

Now, heading into the Knicks’ championship season, Champions Deserve Pepsi brings familiar faces back to NYC streets and select fans inside The Garden, where John Starks surprised them with an early look at the new commemorative championship cans.

“The fans have inspired this campaign from the beginning,” said Gustavo Reyna, VP of Marketing, PEPSI^®. “Every step of the way, we’ve seen how they were showing up for the Knicks and found new ways to show up for them. Champions Deserve Pepsi is the next expression of that, celebrating an incredible championship and the New Yorkers who were there for it.”

As the official soft drink partner of Madison Square Garden, PEPSI^® has been part of Knicks game days since 2018.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void Where Prohibited. Sweepstakes ends on 12/31/2026. US legal residents who are 18 years of age or older and are residents of NY, CT, NJ and residing within a 150-mile radius of Madison Square Garden, NY. Subject to official rules at www.pepsipromos.com/Knicks.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $94 billion in net revenue in 2025, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and drinks, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that places sustainability at the center of our business strategy, seeking to drive growth and build a stronger, more resilient future for PepsiCo and the communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.