With Patrick Mahomes as the face of State Farm and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback Baker Mayfield starring in his own series of Progressive commercials, it feels like insurance ads are becoming an NFL player’s bread-and-butter.
But we’re seeing football stars branch out beyond telling us to bundle home and auto. In 2023, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott appeared in spots for Lowe’s and Bud Light, while Travis and Jason Kelce — along with a cameo from Mama Kelce! — reminded us that Campbell’s Chunky soup really is the way to go.
Speaking of Travis Kelce, you’re probably seeing him in a lot outside of NFL games. According to Reddit, the future Hall of Famer has shown up in more game day ads than any other celebrity, edging out his teammate Mahomes and Jake from State Farm. In addition to repping Campbells, Kelce has appeared in spots for State Farm, Subway, Experian, and Pfizer. In the Pfizer commercial, Travis takes a break from smooching Taylor Swift to tell us that being a responsible partner means getting vaccinated for flu and COVID-19. “Huh, two things at once,”
Travis muses, before launching into multi-tasking mode (cue simultaneous barbecuing and mowing the lawn). Pfizer isn’t an obvious choice for an NFL athlete, but with the amount of money Pfizer paid Travis, the decision makes perfect sense. In fact, Travis reportedly made more from his Pfizer commercial than he does in a whole NFL season.
How much money did Pfizer offer Travis Kelce before he agreed to do the spot? Hint: It was a lot. According to Sportskeeda, the tight end was paid $20 million to appear in Pfizer commercials. It’s a whopping amount of money, even more so when you consider that his annual NFL salary is $14.3 million, per Spotrac. And, with a net worth of $40 million as of 2024, one payday from Pfizer accounts for half of those earnings.
So, why did Pfizer land on Kelce as the perfect spokesperson? For one thing, it could be because Kelce’s relationship with megastar Taylor Swift has seen him become a celebrity in his own right even beyond his athletic fame. For another, his crossover appeal makes him a hugely recognizable figure in the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs are one of the most successful franchises in modern history.
Despite the boatload of money that Pfizer paid Kelce, though, experts aren’t sure the campaign’s message is landing. Christopher Morse, PhD, chair of the Department of Communication at Bryant University, told Fox News, “People are tired of talking about [COVID-19].” He went on to explain that even Kelce’s superstar appeal might not be enough to sway public opinion. “I would argue that for health, celebrities don’t work very well, in general,” he added, citing privacy concerns. And Morse isn’t the only one who thinks so.
