5 NFL stars who've been canceled on social media feat. Brett Favre and Antonio Brown

NFL players and coaches are no strangers to controversy. A number of them have fallen foul of cancel-culture on social media.

While many in the NFL fraternity will be able to go through their careers without any particular controversy away from the field, there are some who just can’t avoid it.

From egregious social media activity to criminal matters, the NFL has seen a number of its darlings fall from grace in the modern age.

All sports have had to adapt to deal with the changing face of our modern world, especially one that is heavily influenced by social media.

Most franchises have done this by appointing team-specific social media managers, yet individual players must remember they have their own brands to protect, too. That’s their responsibility.

Which 5 NFL stars have been the victims of cancel-culture?

#1 – Brett Favre

Brett Favre's greed has gotten him into serious trouble

Brett Favre spent the entirety of his NFL career as the beloved gunslinger who lived for the game.

His success with the Green Bay Packers was admired across the league. However, it is his life away from the sport that has recently caused him to lose the respect of fans.

Having seemingly moved into retirement with poise and grace, Favre has often spoken about difficult topics like concussions and CTE, yet a welfare-scandal has tarnished his reputation.

The former NFL quarterback was named in a scam that supposedly misspent funds that were intended to help the most vulnerable people in Mississippi.

The money was reportedly spent inappropriately while others have claimed that it was spent illegally.

Favre is accused of receiving vastly inflated appearance fees for speeches he didn’t make, as well as receiving misdirected funds for a supposed concussion charity.

At best, Brett Favre has been careless and in the dark about his business affairs. At worst, the former NFL icon has deliberately used charitable funds to further enrich himself behind the cloak of social responsibility.

NFL fans have turned away from Favre as a result. Despite his insistence that he did nothing wrong, fans simply won’t accept the rich stealing from the poor to get richer.

#2 – Aaron Rodgers

Dishonesty over a matter as serious as vaccination has turned fans away from A-Rod

COVID-19 turned the modern world upside-down. It was the first time in living memory that a virus changed the way people lived.

Lockdowns kept businesses shut and people in their homes, putting the world economy under catastrophic strain.

Once the world opened up again, vaccines were introduced to help stem the flow of the virus, yet this became one of the most controversial subjects of the millennium.

Having won the NFL MVP award in two successive years, Aaron Rodgers had been flying high. Yet, a COVID-19 related incident left his public reputation in tatters.

Rodgers intentionally tricked both the NFL and the media during a press conference in which he stated that he was "immunized."

This suggested that he had undergone the full course of COVID-19 vaccinations. He hadn’t.

Rodgers was, instead, referring to a therapeutic treatment he received which he wrongly believed would stop him from getting the coronavirus.

His deception was exposed when he caught COVID-19 in November 2021 and had to be quarantined for 10 days. This was the minimum amount of time an unvaccinated athlete had to be away from the game.

What made the response to Rodgers worse was his appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, where he appeared to brag about his lie and explained how he intentionally used misleading language with teammates and reporters when asked about his vaccination status.

#3 – Nick Bosa

San Francisco won't ever fully embrace Nick Bosa

Nick Bosa has turned into one of the NFL's most elite pass rushers. He is, arguably, the most important player on the San Francisco 49ers’ roster.

Yet, on draft night, there were those in California who weren’t at all happy to see Bosa selected by the prestigious franchise.

This all came from a number of social media posts made and liked by Bosa during his college career.

In addition to calling Colin Kaepernick a "clown" in a tweet, Bosa also liked social media posts which included racist and homophobic phrases.

His political discourse was that of a staunch conservative who openly supported Donald Trump during his term as president.

Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have been a cause for concern, but given the suspicion of Trump’s own racist agenda, the fact that Bosa had targeted several African-Americans on social media was disturbing. He had previously made targeted and offensive posts toward Beyonce, Jay-Z and Draymond Green, as well as Kaepernick.

Given San Francisco’s status as one of the most progressive and accepting cities in America, there are those who have never forgiven Nick Bosa to this day, with his popularity in his own team’s city limited forever.

#4 – Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown has pressed the self-destruct button on his NFL career

While many are critical of modern cancel-culture, in the case of Antonio Brown, it is difficult to find a defense for the former NFL wide receiver.

After falling out of the league and criticizing virtually everyone he has ever encountered, Brown has been blacklisted by most NFL fans for what they consider awful behavior.

Whether it is the accusations of rape leveled against him or the inability to keep his social media posts clean, fans have turned away from AB.

The final straw, perhaps, came from an unlikely direction. Brown was promoting his music career on the WeInMiami podcast when he stated that there was no racism in the United States.

This angered many in the black community and irreparably turned them against the former Pittsburgh Steelers player.

#5 – Jon Gruden

Jon Gruden retains hope he will once again coach in the NFL

As modern NFL coaches go, Jon Gruden may be one of the most famous.

His Super Bowl success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers solidified his reputation as a coaching star. His work with the Raiders in the years before that was also impressive.

So, when he walked away from the sidelines and into the television booth, Gruden became a media darling.

Fans loved his insight into the plays, and very little research went into his personal life and attitude. He was a charismatic figure on TV who accompanied many young viewers of the new generation on their journey into following football on Monday Nights.

Naturally, his return to the Las Vegas Raiders after a decade away from the game was greeted with unadulterated hype.

We were finally going to see if the analyst we all listened to could still cut it in the big leagues.

His tenure, though, was cut short due to a disgusting incident in which he used racist and homophobic slurs in private emails to other NFL personnel.

This was particularly jarring because he coached Carl Nassib at the time. Nassib is one of the few openly gay athletes in professional sports.

Gruden claimed he was unfairly treated and was the victim of a witch hunt. However, fans simply don’t accept these derogatory views any longer. The league is becoming a more accepting place.

Gruden being canceled was always going to happen for what he said and should be a lesson for others in the future.