Travis Kelce is one of the most recognizable faces for Pfizer, and he’s reportedly making millions from it. But the real kicker? He made more from that deal last season than he did playing football. And yeah, as you can probably guess, that’s gotten a lot of people talking.
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Let’s not beat around the bush. Vaccines have been a controversial and political topic ever since COVID-19. When Pfizer released its version, there was relief, but also backlash from anti-vax believers who denounced the product. Despite the criticism, the company pushed forward with nationwide distribution, and COVID case numbers dropped significantly as a result.
That brings us to 2023, when Kelce appeared in a Pfizer commercial promoting vaccines. Reportedly, the Chiefs’ tight end made $20 million from the partnership. That’s $3 million more than his 2025 NFL salary.
TRENDING: #Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce got paid more money from Pfizer than his entire #NFL salary this season.
Kelce’s 2025 salary: $17.125 million
Kelce reportedly got paid by Pfizer: 20 million dollars pic.twitter.com/uTQWyQF7Yx
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 18, 2025
Kelce’s $17 million still puts him among the top three highest-paid tight ends in the NFL. But arguably, when he saw an opportunity to promote a cause, he didn’t hesitate to cash in on it. It’s what many athletes do in general. Yet this specific partnership rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way.
So, when those pissed-off fans caught wind of the dollar figures recently on Twitter, they let Kelce hear it, calling him what they believe is a sellout.
“Sell out to big Pharma,” one wrote. “Money over morals,” another remarked.
Money over morals.
— Lord Taka (@LordTaka1) June 18, 2025
But some fans also came to the defense of Kelce. “Good for him. I’d do it too,” they commented.
“I’m unvaxxed, but for $20 mil, I’d tell everyone to get the shot. Sorry, not sorry,” another said.
Whether or not you believe in or seek out vaccinations is up to you. We’re not going to make this too political. But calling Kelce a sellout for a sponsorship deal is pretty silly. NFL players partner with and promote all kinds of products; it’s part of the job.
Kelce’s teammate, Patrick Mahomes, has sponsorship partners with a ton of companies. Some that he probably didn’t even know he was partnered with. At the end of the day, athletes are going to accept most sponsorships because it nets them more money. If you want to call them sellouts for doing that, go ahead. But you’re just yelling at the air.
