Aaron Rodgers beats Jackson Mahomes as 'most-hated' figure during 2021 NFL season: Report
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the 2021 NFL MVP for his play on the field. However, according to a recent study conducted by BetOnline, he wasn’t that well-received off of it.
In the study conducted by the online sports betting site, the Packers’ franchise quarterback was the most hated person connected with the NFL during the 2021 season.
Who is the most disliked figure in the NFL?
We combed Twitter data in the month of December and found the biggest villian to be Aaron Rodgers. https://t.co/VqqdODDAgQ
The study’s outcome was produced after over a million tweets were assessed by keyword association. Negative turns of phrases like “I hate Aaron Rodgers,” “Antonio Brown sucks,” “F**ck Roger Goodell,” and “Cam Newton is horrible” were included in the study conducted in December last year.
It’s important to note that since January and February were omitted, the results were not affected by those involved in the playoffs.
Jackson Mahomes, the younger brother of Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes, finished sixth in the study with 71,349 negative tweets. What’s significant is that Jackson is the lone individual on the list who isn’t an NFL player, coach, owner, or commissioner.
Rodgers, a 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback, won (or lost) by a wide margin. He was the focus of 266,850 negative tweets. That total was nearly as many as the following three people: former Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown (107,379 tweets), current New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (88,482 tweets), and Los Angeles Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (84,399) combined.
How did Aaron Rodgers make the list?
In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the four-time All-Pro expressed that there’s a joy in being yourself, asserting:
“It really comes down to, and pardon my French, giving less f**ks. I think it’s a majority that comes from aging, making mistakes, from failing, to being too sensitive at times... There’s a lot of joy in being unapologetically yourself.”
A possible reason why Rodgers was seen as the most hated person on Twitter was due to his comments on the COVID-19 vaccine. In a December 2021 appearance on McAfee’s podcast, Rodgers addressed the accusations of spreading misinformation about the vaccine, stating:
"I’ve gotten accused of spreading misinformation when I talk about the treatment plan that I used to get better – that’s been used by a number of people, doctors. I think one of my issues — and I've brought this up many times — is they don’t talk about the fact that guys are getting better using, people are getting better using these things."
"If science can't be questioned it's not science anymore it's propaganda & that's the truth" ~@AaronRodgers12
#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE https://t.co/8PHGdTgYmc
Rodgers previously mentioned on McAfee’s podcast that he’s not an anti-vaxxer and has gotten monoclonal antibodies and taken the horse dewormer ivermectin. He also revealed an allergic reaction he had to an ingredient in mRNA vaccines.
Whatever the reason, the Green Bay signal-caller was overwhelmingly disliked during the previous season.