Travis Kelce Addresses Aaron Rodgers Calling Him 'Mr. Pfizer,' Says He 'Stands by' Getting Vaccinated

The Chiefs tight end addressed the recent comment from Rodgers during a team media availability on Friday

Travis Kelce laughed off the snarky nickname given to him by Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Earlier this week, Rodgers, 39, referred to Kelce — who stars in Pfizer's recent ad encouraging viewers to get vaccines for COVID-19 and the flu — as "Mr. Pfizer" when discussing the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Jets.

Kelce was asked to share his thoughts on the nickname on Friday, and said he didn't mind the comment. “I thought it was pretty good," the Chiefs tight end told reporters after laughing at the initial question. "With the mustache, I look like someone named Mr. Pfizer."

"Who knew I'd get into vax wars with Aaron Rodgers, man? Mr. Pfizer against the Johnson and Johnson family over there,” he added, referring to Jets' owners Woody and Chris Johnson.

Kelce added, though, that he was proud to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

"I got it because of keeping myself safe, keeping my family safe, the people in this building. So yeah, I stand by it, 1000%. I'm fully comfortable with him calling me Mr. Pfizer," he said with a smile.

Before Rodgers' dig, he and Kelce met up on the sidelines of the Chiefs-Jets game on Sunday for a brief chat, which the two-time Super Bowl champ shared the details of on the latest episode of Kelce's podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

Kelce shared, “I just wanted to go up to him — I didn’t shoot him a text or anything like that — I just wanted to go up to him to tell him how excited everybody was and how bummed out we were that he got banged up and needed to get surgery."

“Watching Hard Knocks, it was electric to see what Aaron Rodgers was going to do with that team. And not to say that they're not gonna be great because he's not there, but I think that having Aaron there was gonna be that much more entertaining for the fans of the game like I am.”

Related: Aaron Rodgers Says He's 'Completely Heartbroken' After Season-Ending Injury, Vows to 'Rise Again'

The Chiefs tight end added, “But you just hate to see the great ones go down with injury, that’s for sure. I just went up to him and told him we were all hurting for him and hopefully he gets healthy quick.”

Over the summer, Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets. On Sept. 11, the quarterback's debut with the NFL team was cut short when he suffered an injury in the first quarter.

An MRI the following morning confirmed that Rodgers tore his left Achilles, and he underwent surgery later that week, making him unlikely to return this season — though the quarterback is determined to heal quickly.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Rodgers previously played for the Green Bay Packers, and made headlines during the 2021 season after it was discovered he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19, despite publicly stating he had been "immunized" against the virus.

Rodgers was placed on the Packers' reserve/COVID-19 list shortly after and appeared on the Pat McAfee Show to "set the record straight" during his absence from his then-team. During the interview, he argued that he hadn't lied about being immunized and had taken ivermectin, a drug used foremost to treat or prevent parasites in animals. The FDA has not authorized or approved the drug for use in treating or preventing COVID-19, and in cases where it was taken, people have been hospitalized.

Rodgers claimed he was allergic to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna), and said he did not want to receive the Johnson & Johnson shot because he "had heard of multiple people who had had adverse events around getting the J&J."

He also said that he had done extensive research into COVID-19 prevention, including consulting with podcast host Joe Rogan, much to the dismay of NFL fans.

Later that season, he returned to McAfee's show to encourage additional discourse around the topic. "Wouldn't we all love a healthy debate," Rogers said, explaining his desire to see a debate between Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, and Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist who has been criticized for spreading misinformation about COVID.

"Let's have a debate. Let's hear about sides. Wouldn't that be awesome?" the NFL star added. "When did Freedom of Speech— When did we lose the ability to respect somebody's opinion?… My thoughts [on COVID-19] are just my own opinion on this matter."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.