Aaron Rodgersbelieves Saturday’s Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers game drew viewers for more than just football.TheNFLquarterback, 38, alleged on Tuesday’s episode ofThe Pat McAfee Showthat his stance ongetting vaccinatedwas a major factor.“There were a ton of people tuning in rooting against us for one reason, and one reason only,” Rodgers claimed. “It’s because of my vaccination status and them wanting to see us lose so they could pile on and enjoy and revel in the fact that my vaccination status was some sort of reason why we haven’t had success in the playoffs.“For more on Aaron Rodgers, listen below toour daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.The Packers, who lastappeared in (and won) the Super Bowlin 2011, fell to the 49ers 13-10 in the divisional playoff game.Rodgerscontinues to be a polarizing figuredue to his views on COVID-19, recently criticizing how how PresidentJoe Biden’s administration has approached vaccinations in a Friday interview withESPN"When the president of the United States says, ‘Thisis a pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ it’s because him and his constituents, which, I don’t know how there are any if you watch any of his attempts at public speaking, but I guess he got 81 million votes,” Rodgers told ESPN of a phrase Biden, 79, has previously used.Patrick McDermott/Getty Images"But when you say stuff like that, and then you have the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], which — how do you even trust them? — but then they come out and talk about 75% of the COVID deaths have at least four comorbidities. And you still have this fake White House set saying that this is the pandemic of the unvaccinated, that’s not helping the conversation,” he added.Aaron Rodgers.Allen Berezovsky/FilmMagicThe statistic Rodgers referenced comes from a CDC study of 1.2 million fully vaccinated individuals conducted between December 2020 and October 2021. During the study, just 36 people sufferedCOVID-19-related deaths, 28 of which (or about 78%) had at least four comorbidities.Rodgers confirmed onThe Pat McAfee Showback in November that he wasnot vaccinated against COVID-19, shortly aftercontracting the virus— despite telling reporters in August that he had been"immunized" against the virus.Additionally, Rodgers said his phrasing was not deceptive, but rather deliberate.RELATED VIDEO: Aaron Rodgers Confirms He Is Unvaccinated, Says He “Didn’t Lie” When He Said He Was “Immunized"After the Packers' playoffs loss over the weekend, a source close to the quarterback told PEOPLE that any decision about Rodgers' tenure with the team will not come easily.“He hasa lot to think about in the months to come,” the insider said. “Not just about his future in football, but what happens when football inevitably ends. What does he do?“After his stint guest-hostingJeopardy!did not lead to a full-time gig, Rodgers has been keeping his options open for opportunities. The source told PEOPLE he has had offers for jobs as a pundit for some television shows, mainly for conservative media outlets.“It really feels like a lot of doors have closed for him in the past few months, but he’s thinking maybe that’s not a horrible thing,” said the insider. “Maybe that will guide him to his next act, away from football, doing something he loves and is passionate about.“As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Aaron Rodgersbelieves Saturday’s Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers game drew viewers for more than just football.
TheNFLquarterback, 38, alleged on Tuesday’s episode ofThe Pat McAfee Showthat his stance ongetting vaccinatedwas a major factor.
“There were a ton of people tuning in rooting against us for one reason, and one reason only,” Rodgers claimed. “It’s because of my vaccination status and them wanting to see us lose so they could pile on and enjoy and revel in the fact that my vaccination status was some sort of reason why we haven’t had success in the playoffs.”
For more on Aaron Rodgers, listen below toour daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.
The Packers, who lastappeared in (and won) the Super Bowlin 2011, fell to the 49ers 13-10 in the divisional playoff game.
Rodgerscontinues to be a polarizing figuredue to his views on COVID-19, recently criticizing how how PresidentJoe Biden’s administration has approached vaccinations in a Friday interview withESPN
“When the president of the United States says, ‘Thisis a pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ it’s because him and his constituents, which, I don’t know how there are any if you watch any of his attempts at public speaking, but I guess he got 81 million votes,” Rodgers told ESPN of a phrase Biden, 79, has previously used.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
“But when you say stuff like that, and then you have the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], which — how do you even trust them? — but then they come out and talk about 75% of the COVID deaths have at least four comorbidities. And you still have this fake White House set saying that this is the pandemic of the unvaccinated, that’s not helping the conversation,” he added.
Aaron Rodgers.Allen Berezovsky/FilmMagic
The statistic Rodgers referenced comes from a CDC study of 1.2 million fully vaccinated individuals conducted between December 2020 and October 2021. During the study, just 36 people sufferedCOVID-19-related deaths, 28 of which (or about 78%) had at least four comorbidities.
Rodgers confirmed onThe Pat McAfee Showback in November that he wasnot vaccinated against COVID-19, shortly aftercontracting the virus— despite telling reporters in August that he had been"immunized” against the virus.
Additionally, Rodgers said his phrasing was not deceptive, but rather deliberate.
RELATED VIDEO: Aaron Rodgers Confirms He Is Unvaccinated, Says He “Didn’t Lie” When He Said He Was “Immunized”
After the Packers' playoffs loss over the weekend, a source close to the quarterback told PEOPLE that any decision about Rodgers' tenure with the team will not come easily.
“He hasa lot to think about in the months to come,” the insider said. “Not just about his future in football, but what happens when football inevitably ends. What does he do?”
After his stint guest-hostingJeopardy!did not lead to a full-time gig, Rodgers has been keeping his options open for opportunities. The source told PEOPLE he has had offers for jobs as a pundit for some television shows, mainly for conservative media outlets.
“It really feels like a lot of doors have closed for him in the past few months, but he’s thinking maybe that’s not a horrible thing,” said the insider. “Maybe that will guide him to his next act, away from football, doing something he loves and is passionate about.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
