Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has backed Aaron Rodgers’ recent allegation that fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards circulated within the NFL during the 2021 season. Speaking on his “4th & 1” podcast, Newton claimed that multiple players, coaches, and executives obtained vaccination documentation despite not receiving the shot.
Rodgers had raised a similar allegation during a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show“. Both men described the stricter testing, masking, and distancing rules imposed on unvaccinated players, but neither has publicly provided evidence establishing how widespread the alleged use of fraudulent cards was.
Newton backs fake vaccination-card allegation
During a recent episode of “4th & 1“, Newton claimed that multiple NFL players, coaches, and executives fraudulently represented their COVID-19 vaccination status. He also said he personally knew multiple people in his locker room who had not received the shot but paid for vaccination cards.
Newton placed the practice as far back as 2020, but the vaccination-card issue he described belongs to 2021, when COVID-19 vaccines and the NFL’s vaccination-specific protocols were in place. Newton said nurses were making “big bank” from vaccination cards, but he did not publicly provide a specific price that players allegedly paid.
Newton did not name the players, coaches, or executives he accused. His account, therefore, adds another allegation to the debate without independently establishing how many people in the NFL used fraudulent vaccination documentation.
The NFL’s 2021 vaccination protocols treated players differently
The NFL did not mandate COVID-19 vaccination for players in 2021. Coaches and other Tier 1 and Tier 2 team employees, however, generally had to be vaccinated to retain direct access to players unless they qualified for a medical or religious exemption.
Medical staff tested unvaccinated players daily and vaccinated players weekly for much of the 2021 regular season. Unvaccinated players also faced stricter rules for masking, distancing, meetings, meals, and travel.
The protocols clearly created different working conditions based on vaccination status. Those distinctions have been criticized by Rodgers and Newton; however, broad claims about how every NFL locker room responded to them should not be stated without additional evidence.
Rodgers raised similar allegations on The Pat McAfee Show
Rodgers recently said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he remembered seeing vaccination cards during the COVID-era NFL protocols that looked so questionable they appeared to have been “written in crayon.” He suggested that some people around the league may have used fake vaccination cards while unvaccinated players faced stricter rules.
Rodgers did not claim in that interview that nurses were making large amounts of money selling cards. That allegation came from Newton, who later said on his own podcast that nurses were making “big bank” from vaccination cards.
Rodgers made the remarks during a broader attack on former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a July 29 Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. Rodgers’ fake-card allegation remains his personal account and does not establish the existence or scale of a league-wide scheme.
Unvaccinated players faced additional daily restrictions
NFL protocols required unvaccinated players to undergo daily testing and follow stricter masking and distancing requirements inside team facilities. They also faced additional rules involving meetings, meals, locker rooms, travel, and other shared spaces.
Vaccinated players generally faced fewer restrictions, although they were not exempt from all COVID-19 protocols. For much of the 2021 regular season, unvaccinated players were tested daily while vaccinated players were generally tested weekly. The league later modified its testing system in December as conditions changed.
Rodgers and Newton now allege that fraudulent vaccination cards allowed some people to avoid the stricter requirements. Their accounts do not establish how commonly that occurred or prove that the NFL’s rules caused anyone to obtain fraudulent documentation.
Antonio Brown’s suspension provides documented precedent
The NFL suspended Antonio Brown for 3 games in December 2021 after a league-NFLPA review concluded that he had misrepresented his vaccination status. Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards and free-agent receiver John Franklin III received the same suspension.
All 3 accepted their penalties without appealing. The disciplinary action followed an allegation from Brown’s former chef that Brown had obtained a fake vaccination card, although the NFL’s official wording said the players had misrepresented their vaccination status.
The episode provides a documented example of NFL discipline involving false vaccination status. It does not independently prove Newton’s or Rodgers’ allegation that the practice was widespread across the league.
Fun fact: Rodgers received a $14,650 fine from the NFL in 2021 for attending a Halloween gathering while unvaccinated, in violation of NFL-NFLPA protocols.
Newton had his own dispute with the 2021 testing rules
Newton missed several Patriots practices in August 2021 after traveling to a team-approved medical appointment outside New England. Although he tested negative each day, a misunderstanding involving tests conducted away from NFL facilities triggered a mandatory 5-day re-entry process because he was unvaccinated.
The Patriots released Newton on August 31 while rookie Mac Jones won the starting quarterback job. Newton later said he felt “bamboozled” by the testing episode, but coach Bill Belichick publicly denied that vaccination status was a factor in the decision to release him.
In October 2021, Newton said he had received a vaccination while pursuing another NFL opportunity. Newton’s history adds weight to his support for Rodgers’ claims.
Newton’s comments revive scrutiny of the 2021 protocols
Newton’s comments received national sports coverage after he discussed the issue on his “4th & 1” podcast on Monday, Aug. 10. His remarks revived discussion of Rodgers’ earlier allegation about questionable vaccination cards and brought renewed attention to documented cases such as Antonio Brown’s 2021 suspension.
Neither Newton nor Rodgers has publicly identified the people they say used fraudulent vaccination documentation or released evidence establishing the scale of the alleged practice. Brown’s disciplinary case confirms that the NFL found at least some players had misrepresented their vaccination status, but it does not establish that fraudulent cards were widespread across the league.
Newton, therefore, echoed Rodgers’ allegation with a separate personal account. His comments add to the allegations from a former NFL player, but they do not independently prove the broader claim.
Broader allegations remain unverified
As of August 12, the NFL has not publicly announced a new investigation into Newton’s and Rodgers’ broader fake-card allegations. During the 2021 season, the league investigated individual vaccination-status cases and imposed discipline for violations.
The current claims concern events from roughly 5 years ago and remain unsupported by named individuals or documentary evidence. Unless players, teams, or league officials provide corroborating information, Newton’s and Rodgers’ accounts do not establish the extent of fraudulent vaccination documentation.
Newton and Rodgers may continue discussing this topic on their respective platforms. Their comments could prompt other former players to share similar stories. We may never fully know what happened during that season.
Little-known fact: Newton missed 3 Patriots practices in August 2021 after a testing-protocol misunderstanding triggered a 5-day re-entry process.
TL;DR
- Cam Newton backed Aaron Rodgers’ recent allegation that people in the NFL used fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards during the 2021 season.
- Rodgers raised the allegation on “The Pat McAfee Show” while criticizing former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci.
- The NFL did not mandate vaccination for players in 2021, but unvaccinated players faced daily testing and stricter masking and distancing rules, while many coaches and other Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees were required to be vaccinated unless exempt.
- The NFL suspended Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards, and John Franklin III for 3 games in 2021 after finding that they had misrepresented their vaccination status.
- Neither Newton nor Rodgers has publicly provided documentation establishing how widespread fraudulent vaccination documentation may have been.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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