EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an April Fools’ Day fabrication. Chad Thadley’s existence, the 11-day Wendy’s contract, the per-Schefter reporting style, the Eastville Eagles jacket, and the Olympic commitment are all part of Supposedly News’s running satirical universe. The tweet described below is fabricated. Chad Thadley is a recurring satirical character. Everything is fine. Per Schefter.
EASTVILLE — In a tweet posted at 11:58 PM on March 31, 2026 — two minutes before April Fools’ Day, which Schefter has confirmed was not intentional and which sources close to Schefter describe as “classic Schefter, he just had the information” — ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the following sequence of events involving Chad Thadley, four-time Ohio state bench press champion, in a single 280-character tweet:
“Sources: Chad Thadley has pulled out of the 2028 Olympics, agreed to return to Wendy’s (2yr, $17/hr), been traded to Dairy Queen (contingent on a physical), had the trade voided (no league office), re-committed to the 2028 Olympics, signed an endorsement deal with Buffalo Wild Wings for the Espresso Proteini, and per sources, is now also considering the 2032 Olympics. Eastville Eagles jacket visible in background. Per source.”
The tweet has 4.7 million likes. It is the most-liked sports tweet in history. The previous record holder was a tweet from LeBron James that simply said “wow.” LeBron James’s “wow” tweet has been contacted for comment. LeBron James’s “wow” tweet has not responded.
The Timeline, Which Occurred Over Approximately 11 Days
Chad Thadley’s career, for those joining the Supposedly News narrative: He was signed by Wendy’s on an 11-day contract for $17 per hour following his exit from the McDonald’s organization, amid unresolved espionage allegations that remain unresolved. He played 11 days. He departed. He was replaced by a manager named Steve, who has the ServeSafe certification and will not be doing any of this. He then committed to the 2028 LA Olympics flag football team, wearing the Eastville Eagles letterman jacket in the Fox Sports broadcast graphic, with dramatic lighting. Riley Broder annotated the bench press records. Per Schefter throughout.
The new Wendy’s contract — signed and voided and replaced with a Dairy Queen deal that was itself voided due to the absence of a league office — lasted approximately 72 hours and produced no documented employment beyond the signing announcement. The Dairy Queen deal would have been the first professional athlete-to-fast-food-chain trade in American sports history, and its voiding on the grounds that Wendy’s has no league office to approve trades is, Schefter confirmed, technically accurate and something Schefter himself raised with Wendy’s corporate, who responded by saying they do not have a league office, which is true, and which Schefter reported as “trade voided, per the absence of a trade mechanism.”
The Espresso Proteini Endorsement, Which Makes Perfect Sense In Context
Chad Thadley’s endorsement deal with Buffalo Wild Wings for the Espresso Proteini — the wing dry rub-rimmed protein martini that was available for four days in March during National Espresso Martini Day — is worth noting because the Espresso Proteini is no longer available. It was available March 12-15 only. The endorsement deal therefore covers a product that ceased to exist approximately two weeks before Chad signed to represent it.
Chad’s agent, who is Schefter’s source and cannot be named, described this as “a legacy endorsement deal for a legacy product” and noted that Chad’s four state bench press titles give him the “physical credibility” to represent a protein-enhanced cocktail, and that the dry rub rim “is consistent with Chad’s palate” and that the window of availability was a “creative constraint that actually makes the deal more exclusive.”
The Espresso Proteini is the most exclusive endorsement deal in sports because the product is unavailable. This is either genius or a contract for a ghost product, and Frank considers both interpretations plausible.
The Eastville Eagles Jacket, Which Was Visible
Brent Eyewitness confirmed the Eastville Eagles letterman jacket was visible in the background of Schefter’s embedded tweet video. This is the third time the jacket has been confirmed in a broadcast or media context, which, per the Supposedly News internal tracking system, means the jacket has now appeared in: Fox Sports broadcast graphics during the Olympics announcement, Schefter’s original Wendy’s tweet, and Schefter’s April Fools tweet. The jacket is becoming the most documented piece of athletic outerwear in Supposedly News history, which Brent considers significant, and Riley Broder, who annotated the bench press records, has noted in a follow-up comment that the jacket was present for all three events and may be the most important witness available.
Chad Thadley has not commented. Per Schefter, Chad is “evaluating options” and “committed to excellence” and “will make a decision when he makes a decision, which will be reported exclusively by Schefter when it happens.”
The 2028 Olympics are in Los Angeles. The flag football format is confirmed. Chad’s Olympic commitment is currently in a state of quantum uncertainty — officially re-committed per the Schefter tweet, but also subject to a pending Dairy Queen trade that was voided, an Espresso Proteini endorsement that covers a discontinued product, and a Wendy’s contract clause that Frank is still trying to locate in the filing system. The Eastville Eagles jacket has no comment. Per sources.
Frank Misquote, Sports & Leisure, filed this April Fools fabrication with zero confidence, 14 fake sources, and the genuine acknowledgment that Chad Thadley’s real satirical arc — Wendy’s, 11 days, $17/hr, Olympics, the jacket — has become the publication’s most internally consistent running character, and that the real story (a person defined entirely by what Schefter says per sources) is already sufficiently absurd that April Fools barely improves it. Happy April 1st. Per Schefter.