State Farm, which has a long-running advertising campaign that prominently features Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, said Monday in a statement to The Washington Post that Rodgers has “been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade” but that the company does not agree with “some of his statements” regarding coronavirus vaccines. Nonetheless, the insurance company is not severing ties with Rodgers, whose anti-vaccine comments Friday drew widespread condemnation.
“We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view,” the company said in the statement. “We recognize our customers, employees, agents and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances.”
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State Farm’s media representatives did not answer questions posed to them about Rodgers’s future with the company, or about reports that State Farm significantly reduced the number of commercials featuring Rodgers that ran during sporting events over the weekend.
Rodgers is not vaccinated and tested positive for the coronavirus last week; he missed the Packers’ 13-7 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and cannot rejoin the team until at least Saturday, one day before Green Bay’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks.
During an appearance Friday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers defended his decision not to be vaccinated with one of the three available shots, claimed he was the victim of the “woke mob,” “cancel culture” and what he described as a “witch hunt” against him, and blasted the NFL’s coronavirus policies as not based on science. He said he had gone through an alternative vaccination process, one that was not approved under coronavirus protocols established for this season by the league and its players’ union, but claimed he wasn’t lying in August when he told reporters that he had been “immunized” from the coronavirus.
The NFL conducted a review of Rodgers’s alternative treatment and determined that there was insufficient scientific data to support his petition. The league and the NFLPA also are reviewing whether Rodgers and the Packers violated any aspects of the coronavirus protocols, which are much stricter for unvaccinated individuals than those who received the vaccine.
Health experts say Rodgers made several incorrect or misleading statements Friday, among them that he had achieved “natural immunity” via his alternative therapy, that the vaccines were ineffective and that the vaccines can cause infertility.
Rodgers has been a State Farm pitchman since 2011, appearing in television commercials that air frequently during sporting events. But according to data collected by Apex Marketing and first reported by the Action Network, the State Farm ads featuring Rodgers represented only 1.5 percent of the commercials aired by the company Sunday through 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Over the previous two Sundays, before his remarks about vaccines, the Rodgers commercials represented 25 percent of all State Farm ads.
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Though it’s unclear how much State Farm pays Rodgers, Forbes wrote in 2018 that Rodgers’s promotional deal with the company is “one of the richest endorsements in the sport.”
On Saturday, Wisconsin health-care provider Prevea Health announced it was ending its partnership with Rodgers, who had been a spokesman for the company since 2012.
“Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said in a statement. “This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods.”
Rodgers, one of the most well-compensated NFL players on and off the field, has other promotional agreements besides the one with State Farm, among them Adidas, Bose and TaylorMade golf clubs. None of those companies have yet to comment on Rodgers.
“We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view,” the company said in the statement. “We recognize our customers, employees, agents and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances.”
Brewer: Aaron Rodgers, starting QB for the unvaccinated, is really just looking out for No. 12
State Farm’s media representatives did not answer questions posed to them about Rodgers’s future with the company, or about reports that State Farm significantly reduced the number of commercials featuring Rodgers that ran during sporting events over the weekend.
Rodgers is not vaccinated and tested positive for the coronavirus last week; he missed the Packers’ 13-7 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and cannot rejoin the team until at least Saturday, one day before Green Bay’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks.
During an appearance Friday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers defended his decision not to be vaccinated with one of the three available shots, claimed he was the victim of the “woke mob,” “cancel culture” and what he described as a “witch hunt” against him, and blasted the NFL’s coronavirus policies as not based on science. He said he had gone through an alternative vaccination process, one that was not approved under coronavirus protocols established for this season by the league and its players’ union, but claimed he wasn’t lying in August when he told reporters that he had been “immunized” from the coronavirus.
The NFL conducted a review of Rodgers’s alternative treatment and determined that there was insufficient scientific data to support his petition. The league and the NFLPA also are reviewing whether Rodgers and the Packers violated any aspects of the coronavirus protocols, which are much stricter for unvaccinated individuals than those who received the vaccine.
Health experts say Rodgers made several incorrect or misleading statements Friday, among them that he had achieved “natural immunity” via his alternative therapy, that the vaccines were ineffective and that the vaccines can cause infertility.
Rodgers has been a State Farm pitchman since 2011, appearing in television commercials that air frequently during sporting events. But according to data collected by Apex Marketing and first reported by the Action Network, the State Farm ads featuring Rodgers represented only 1.5 percent of the commercials aired by the company Sunday through 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Over the previous two Sundays, before his remarks about vaccines, the Rodgers commercials represented 25 percent of all State Farm ads.
After Jordan Love struggles in his first start, the Packers’ future isn’t any clearer
Though it’s unclear how much State Farm pays Rodgers, Forbes wrote in 2018 that Rodgers’s promotional deal with the company is “one of the richest endorsements in the sport.”
On Saturday, Wisconsin health-care provider Prevea Health announced it was ending its partnership with Rodgers, who had been a spokesman for the company since 2012.
“Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said in a statement. “This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods.”
Rodgers, one of the most well-compensated NFL players on and off the field, has other promotional agreements besides the one with State Farm, among them Adidas, Bose and TaylorMade golf clubs. None of those companies have yet to comment on Rodgers.