Report: Packers Fined $300K, Aaron Rodgers Fined $15K for Violating COVID Protocols

The NFL has fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers $15,000 for violating the NFL and NFLPA's joint COVID-19 protocols, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.

"We respect the league's findings and we recognize the importance of adherence to the COVID protocols to keep our team and organization safe and healthy," Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement. "We will continue to educate the team regarding the importance of protocols and remain committed to operating within the protocols."

Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the fines for Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard were for "attending a maskless Halloween party. The party wasn’t sanctioned by the team but the league determined the club should have penalized both players."

Additionally, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that the NFL "reviewed video supplied by the Packers" and that there were "'a few isolated' instances of Rodgers and Lazard maskless inside the facilities (outside of the press conferences) but otherwise the league felt the team and players were 'substantially compliant.'"

Rodgers, who is unvaccinated, told reporters in late July he was "immunized." However, his petition to the NFL to consider his immunization plan the same as being vaccinated was denied by the league and the NFLPA. 

He said he was unvaccinated because he was allergic to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, adding that he knew people who had adverse reactions to Johnson & Johnson's non-mRNA vaccine. 

On The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Rodgers denied that he misled people with his "immunization" comments.

"At the time, my plan was to say that I have been immunized," he said. "It wasn't some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth, and I'll get into the whole immunization in a second. But had there been a follow-up to my statement that I've been immunized, I would have responded with this: I would have said, 'Look, I'm not some sort of anti-vax, flat-Earther. I am somebody who's a critical thinker.'"

But on Tuesday, he appeared on the show again and walked back those remarks.

"I understand that people are suffering, and this has been a really difficult time for the last two years on so many people. I think we all know individuals who have lost their lives personally, people who have lost their businesses, their livelihoods, their way of life has been altered completely, and I empathize with those things. And I also know how sports can be a connector and bring people together in times of adversity, and I do realize that I am a role model to a lot of people."

"So I just want to start off the show acknowledging that I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments."

Rodgers, who missed Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, may be eligible to return to the Packers on Saturday if he's COVID-free, a day before they face the Seattle Seahawks. Unvaccinated players must quarantine for at least 10 days under the NFL's coronavirus protocols.