Papa John's founder John Schnatter will step down as CEO next month, after he publicly criticized the NFL leadership over national anthem protests by football players.

Schnatter will be replaced as chief executive by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie on January 1, the company announced Thursday.

Schnatter, who appears in the chain's commercials and on its pizza boxes, and is the company's biggest shareholder, remains chairman of the board.

Earlier this year, Schnatter blamed slowing sales growth at Papa John's - an NFL sponsor and advertiser - on the outcry surrounding players kneeling during the national anthem, comments for which the company later apologized.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had kneeled during the national anthem to protest what he said was police mistreatment of black men, and other players started kneeling as well.

Papa John's founder John Schnatter (pictured in May at Indy 500) will step down as the company's CEO next month

Schnatter will be replaced as chief executive by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie (pictured right) on Jan. 1, the company announced Thursday

The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country,' Schnatter said during a conference call about the company's earnings on November 1.

Papa John's apologized two weeks later, after white supremacists praised Schnatter's comments. The Louisville, Kentucky-based company distanced itself from the group, saying that it did not want them to buy their pizza.

Ritchie declined to say Thursday if the NFL comments played a role in Schnatter stepping down, only saying that it's 'the right time to make this change.'

Shares of Papa John's are down about 13 percent since the day before the NFL comments were made, reducing the value of Schnatter's stake in the company by nearly $84 million.

Schnatter owns nearly 9.5 million shares of Papa John's International Inc., and his total stake was valued at more than $560 million on Thursday, according to FactSet. The company's stock is down 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

Schnatter blamed slowing sales growth at Papa John's - an NFL sponsor and advertiser - on the outcry surrounding players kneeling (Eli Harold and Colin Kaepernick are on the sideline during the anthem before the game vs Chicago Bears in December 2016)

Kaepernick (shown at the game against the New England Patriots at Levi Stadium in November 2016) kneeled during the national anthem to protest what he said was police mistreatment of black men

Schnatter, 56, founded Papa John's more than three decades ago, when he turned a broom closet at his father's bar into a pizza spot.

And it has since grown to more than 5,000 locations. Schnatter has also become the face of the company, showing up in TV ads with former football player Peyton Manning.

The company hasn't decided if Schnatter will still be its spokesman, Ritchie said, adding that a decision will be made early next year.

The Papa John's leadership change comes as the pizza chains that once dominated the fast-food delivery business face tougher competition from hamburger and fried-chicken chains that are expanding their delivery business.

The company hasn't decided if Schnatter (shown at the Omaha Mavericks and Louisville Cardinals game in November) will still be the spokesman

McDonald's Corp., for example, expects to increase delivery from 5,000 of its nearly 14,000 U.S. locations by the end of the year.

Ritchie said his focus as CEO will be making it easier for customers to order a Papa John's pizza from anywhere.

That's a strategy that has worked for Domino's, which takes orders from tweets, text messages and voice-activated devices, such as Amazon's Echo.

Papa John's customers can order through Facebook and Apple TV, but Ritchie said he wants the chain to be everywhere customers are.

'The world is evolving and changing,' he said.

Ritchie, 43, began working at a Papa John's restaurant 21 years ago, making pizzas and answering phones, the company said.

He became a franchise owner in 2006 and owns nine locations. He was named chief operating officer three years ago.

Ritchie said plans for him to succeed Schnatter were made after that.