Chad “Ochocino” Johnson is a very wealthy man now, but that wasn’t always the case. He used to get by on McDonalds burgers and French fries. His love for the fast-food chain remains to this day—he even owns multiple franchises—which makes his bet with Ryan Clark on the upcoming Pittsburgh Steelers versus Cincinnati Bengals game a high-stakes affair.
Johnson, a former Bengals wide receiver, initially bet $20 on the outcome of the game with Clark, a former Steelers safety. Clark upped the ante by saying that if he wins, Johnson can’t have McDonalds until 2025.
Here is their back and forth via a clip from The CW’s Inside the NFL.
“Cincinnati’s 4-7 right now. Like Coach [Bill Belichick] always says, I’ll never forget Coach saying this, the season starts after Thanksgiving,” Johnson said in defense of his struggling Bengals.
“Doesn’t matter what you do before Thanksgiving?” Clark said back with a laugh.
This friendly banter between the two hosts of the show escalated into their reasons why they think their respective team will win.
“I think the Pittsburgh Steelers win because the Pittsburgh Steelers have to win,” Clark said. “And also the Cincinnati Bengals defensively haven’t played well. I expect George Pickens to have a day.”
If you throw out Pickens’ first-career NFL game with just one reception against the Bengals, he has 11 receptions on 17 targets for 336 yards and three touchdowns in his last three meetings against the Bengals. That includes a career game against them last season with 195 yards and two touchdowns.
“I have a question,” Johnson responded. “If George Pickens has his day, who’s gonna stop our offense? Who’s gonna stop [Tee] Higgins? Who’s gonna stop [Ja’Marr] Chase? Who’s gonna stop Chase Brown?”
Clark listed several Steelers who will have a say in the matter, including Joey Porter Jr., who shut down Chase in his one and only matchup against him as a rookie last year.
Finally, the bet.
“Can we make a friendly wager, please?” Johnson said. “Twenty bucks.”
“How about this,” Clark responded. “If the Pittsburgh Steelers win, you can’t eat McDonald’s for the rest of the year.”
The Steelers are trying to prevent themselves from stacking losses at the wrong time of the season while they hold a narrow lead in the AFC North. Meanwhile, the Bengals are trying to keep their season alive and are way better than their poor record suggests.
Fortunately for Johnson, the rest of the year will barely be the length of a full month.
