Aaron Rodgers' endorsement partners are mostly silent on his COVID controversy, a sign they're likely taking a wait-and-see approach

GREEN BAY – If the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers just stops talking about his views on medical science, he might escape his current self-created COVID-19 controversy relatively whole.

A public relations firestorm erupted when the Green Bay Packers quarterback tested positive for COVID-19 and it was revealed he was unvaccinated, although when asked the question in August, he equivocated, giving the impression to some that he was. After his diagnosis, he then made the situation worse by talking about "woke mobs," "cancel culture" and NFL protocols he ignored because he didn't agree with them.

One business partner, Prevea Health of Ashwaubenon, cut ties with Rodgers immediately after he said he had not been vaccinated and was using unproven or disproved practices such as taking Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug most often used in horses. Prevea has been an early and consistent promoter of vaccinations.

Rodgers won't resume being a spokesman for Prevea and likely won't become one for other health care organizations, but his other endorsements might survive. According to Rodgers' page on the Online Sports Database, he has endorsement deals with Adidas, State Farm, Sharpie, IZOD, Bose, Capital One, Bergstrom Automotive, Zenith Watches, TaylorMade Golf, QuickBooks, FedEx and Cash App.

Cash App said its deal was only for a couple of days on social media and ended before the COVID-19 issue came up. QuickBooks said its association with Rodgers was for a short campaign that ended in August. Capital One, which responded after the story was published, said it does not have an endorsement deal with Rodgers. Rodgers was a participant in a four-person celebrity golf match in July that was sponsored by Capital One.

Other companies contacted about Rodgers either declined to comment or did not respond, with the exception of State Farm, which said early on that it would stand behind Rodgers while simultaneously reducing the number of aired advertisements featuring him. 

Although health care is not a part of the Rodgers appearances for State Farm, trust is an important part of what the insurance company is selling, said James Pokrywczynski, associate professor of strategic communications at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

"I think what their strategy is, they are going to bury his appearances deep in the vault and see how this thing plays out for a month or so. If he gets the team back in the playoffs, State Farm will believe this has blown over," he said.

None of his other endorsement partners has a direct tie to medical services or has Rodgers as an on-camera spokesman, so they can afford to wait out the controversy, which they appear to be doing.  

"Those other brands, there’s less of an issue there regarding the importance of trust in brand decision-making," Pokrywczynski said.

But given a choice, those brands prefer positive messages to surviving a public relations hullaballoo. 

James Harris, assistant professor of business administration-marketing at St. Norbert College in De Pere, also said patience makes sense. While controversial, Rodgers' actions likely have not damaged their brands.

"We do know this, if somebody’s done a lot of harm and a company just cut ties, their stock price goes up a notch. The sooner it's done, the better. It's kind of a damage-control device," he said. "In this particular case, I don’t think it’s a direct harm, so the wait-and-see approach is probably what they are doing on purpose."

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If a company has taken a strong pro-vaccination stance, an association with Rodgers could be problematic, especially in its relationship with its own employees, said Phil Clampitt, professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

"Otherwise, their smart strategy would be to pull back and wait for this controversy to play out," he said.

There is good reason why companies might be reluctant to cut ties with Rodgers. In a study completed in early October, before Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, The Action Network ranked Rodgers as the fourth most marketable player in the NFL, behind Tom Brady, Odell Beckham Jr. and Russell Wilson. Its formula looked at 20 factors across three core metrics: social media performance, audience performance and overall likability.

The Action Network's rankings have not been recalculated in the wake of the COVID controversy, but Rodgers may have a reservoir of goodwill, in a marketing sense, to draw on.

"As long as his teammates and coaches are supportive of him and he wins the Super Bowl, this all goes away," Clampitt said.  

Also, Rodgers will have to avoid the temptation to reassert his case. Shutting up might be difficult for him, both because of his personality and because he'll certainly be asked about it the next time he faces reporters. But from a public relations standpoint, deflection would be the prudent course,  Pokrywczynski said.

"There was a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story that he acknowledged he was mistaken on a few claims. I think he should continue with that stance," he said. "'I’m here to talk about the game. I’ve answered that question as far as I’m going to answer it.'"

To be clear, Rodgers offered a non-apology apology. He said he was sorry if people were offended by what he said, but he isn't changing his opinion on any of it.

Pokrywczynski said the Packers organization also missed an opportunity to rein in the crisis.

"The coach said we are following all the protocols, and it was pretty obvious all the protocols weren’t being followed," he said. "The team had a chance to say we are going to seriously review all our protocols and see where we can do better. That would have softened it. I think the team missed that."

The Packers were fined $300,000 by the NFL for not following protocols and Rodgers and teammate Allen Lazard were fined $14,650 each for the same offense.

Social media can make public relations problems worse, and it might have an effect on how soon this controversy passes. Social media can amplify a controversy, but it also rushes to the next issue when it comes along, leaving current controversies behind. In either case, it is another reason why companies might lie low instead of reacting to what Rodgers did and said.

The typical reaction to a such a crisis is to address the issue, offer a solution and follow through quickly, which usually tamps down the fuss, but social media changes that calculation, Harris said. The better action now by less-affected brands may be to do and say nothing that will poke the social media bear. 

"We have an environment right now where things that weren’t controversial before are. And now you have to take a political edge to it. And 'Wow, this is just amplified noise and feeling,'" Harris said.

Rightly or wrongly, winning could be the fastest way to make the controversy dissipate. 

"If he wins, people tend to forget about things. Some of them will forgive him," Harris said. "We are talking about a fan base that is broad and deep and represents all kinds of interests."

Clampitt said Rodgers previously had a squeaky-clean image. That might not hold true going forward.

"He didn’t lie, he equivocated. When you equivocate, you run the risk people are going to take it the wrong way. People delay judgment. Now the judgment came," he said.

In the end, there's no question Rodgers was duplicitous, and people can put that wherever they like on the continuum of lies, Harris said.

"It's not a great look," he said. "When you talk about celebrity and endorsers, one of the aspects that goes into it is trust and expertise. He was trusted because he is an aspirant person and he does well on the football field and everybody likes ‘go team.’

"The problem is, some of these folks start thinking they are experts in every area because they tend to be listened to. And that expertise just got whacked, and whacked down."

— Natalie Brophy contributed to this report.

Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.