The Five Best Commercials by NFL Stars

Watching good commercials: it's one of the perks of the NFL season. Companies really make an effort to reach the millions of football fans who tune in on television every Sunday to watch their favorite team, so they put out some commercials that are genuinely good and funny.

Inexplicably, some of the best commercials involve football stars who pretend, for a moment, that they can act, and these commercials are the ones that keep fans in the recliner instead of getting up to get that can of pop.

Here's a few of the best NFL commercials in recent history.

Honorable Mentions: Favre and Strahan

Two retirees, Brett Favre and Michael Strahan, nearly make the list of notable commercials with NFL stars. Favre has been doing the Wrangler ads for years, but there's nothing really special about them, other than it's the only place he gets to throw the football anymore.

Strahan, on the other hand, has been in several commercials of note, including ones showcasing Subway's Five Dollar Footlong and the one above, which advertises for Dr. Pepper at Donovan McNabb's expense.

#5: Drew Brees and Vicks

Drew Brees comes in at number five with his ads for various Vicks products. Some of them are mildly funny, such as the one advertising NyQuil, while the one above is a touching moment with Brees and his son.

Brees is playing to his strength in these commercials, being the personable quarterback that you just can't hate.

#4: Sanchez and the Jets Finally Do Something to the Max

Alright, part of the reason that this commercial featuring Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan and the Jets ends up at number four is because it gives these media hogs something constructive to do during the postseason.

The ad is pretty entertaining, though, and it features some of the better work the Jets have done in the locker room this year by typecasting the various figureheads. This commercial isn't higher because, in all fairness, the Pepsi Max guy is the one who really makes it funny.

#3: Tim Tebow Finally Tells Off His Critics

Tim Tebow is a major league personality, even if some say he isn't a major league quarterback. In this commercial for FRS Health Energy, though, Tebow rubs his success in the face of his critics, suggesting that he uses their disparaging comments to fuel him.

This ad makes the list at number three because it doesn't feature Tebow as the overly nice guy he is, but instead is kind of in-your-face and makes a statement that we've all been waiting for Tebow to make.

#2: Polamalu Has the Biggest Hair in the NFL

Troy Polamalu's series of Head and Shoulders ads are some of the funniest commercials on TV. The NFL big man uses the most visible part of his person, his hair, to sell the shampoo, making fun of himself and other players and people in the process.

Polamalu clocks in at number two for his consistent, entertaining efforts in these ads.

#1: Aaron Rodgers Lives in a State of Imitation

The clear number one in any list of NFL-related commercials has to be Aaron Rodgers' trio of "State of Imitation" commercials for State Farm Insurance.

The ads were endemic in pop culture, following Rodgers in his trips to the State Farm office as the ad mocks him and steals his touchdown dance. The original commercial, above, was so popular that it brought around two sequels, featuring fellow Packers B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews III.