mcdonalds raptors

McDonald's is losing millions of dollars because of the Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are currently holding a 2-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors before tonight's Game 4 of the NBA Finals. 

And, french fry-lovers are holding a $5.8 million lead over McDonald's.

When McDonald's decided to start a partnership promotion with Toronto's basketball team, they weren't expecting what would come next. That is—Kawhi Leonard. 

Here's what happened: Chuck Coolen, head of marketing for McDonald's in Eastern Canada, finalized a partnership with the Raptors that would allow anyone in Ontario to get a free medium fry whenever the team made 12 three-pointers in a game. 

Little did the company know, star and icon Kawhi Leonard would cost them a ton of money. 

Now, much later, McDonald's has given away more than two million medium fries in Ontario, following the immense success of both Leonard's and the Raptors' history-making run. 

The Raptors have scored twelve three-pointers in 44 games of the regular season, and 10 more times in the playoffs. 

With this running success, McDonald's has had to fill orders for free medium fries over two million times. As an estimate, that's $5.8 million on the average price of $2.89 (menu prices change by McDonald's location). 

However, McDonald's isn't completely losing. The promotion requires you to download the app to get your fries, so the company believes it will pay off in the long run. 

The Raptors head into Game 4 tonight, and if all goes well, fries may be on your horizon. 

Lead photo by

Toronto Raptors


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