On Sunday night, Swifties, an odd group of new football fans, closely followed the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the New York Jets.
Taylor Swift, the queen of pop music, was seen applauding from a suite filled with famous people at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, together with Blake Lively, Ryan Renolds, Sophie Turner, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Jackman, and Antoni Porowski.
Swift’s supporters were more enthused about snippets of the pop star’s comments to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who Swift is rumoured to be dating, than the on-field action, as the Chiefs narrowly defeated the Jets 23-20.
The Taylor Swift effect is beginning to have an impact on the NFL, as the speculation around her relationship with Kelce has already resulted in record-breaking attendance and ticket sales.Her on-going Eras Tour is expected to generate up to $5 billion in consumer spending in the United States alone, demonstrating the 12-time Grammy Award winner’s ability to have a noticeable economic impact everywhere she performs. She is presently taking a break from the tour, which will resume in Argentina’s Buenos Aires in November.The NFL is making a strong play for the new interest as many Swifties come into contact with football fans for the first time and start teaching one another the fundamentals of the sport.
When the Chiefs scored a touchdown, Sunday Night Football on NBC uploaded a videotape of the winning play on X, the website that replaced Twitter, with Swift’s support visible on a split-screen.Swift’s “Welcome to New York” served as the soundtrack for NBC’s pregame ad video for the Chiefs-Jets game. The Friday X video’s caption read: “Taylor Made for Sunday Night.”The NFL changed its bio on X last week to “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” in reference to the albums that Swift has been re-recording over the last two years after she made a surprise appearance at a Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game at Kansas City’s home stadium, where she was seen in a suite watching the game with Kelce’s mother.
Swift has been sent a “open invitation” to all upcoming games, according to Ian Trombetta, senior vice president of social and influencer marketing for the NFL.For the NFL, which, like many other sports leagues, has been struggling to gain followers from a younger age with substantially reduced interest in sports, Swift’s rumoured new love interest has turned into a much-needed marketing boost.The Chiefs-Jets game, which is currently the second-highest selling game of the NFL season, witnessed a 175% surge in ticket sales in the three days following Swift’s performance at the game on September 24. The game attracted more than 24 million viewers overall, making it the most viewed NFL broadcast of the week. Interest among women between the ages of 12-49, who are also Swift’s core constituency, increased significantly.
The relationship rumours have also generated interest in Kelce, who over the previous week amassed over a million new Instagram followers. Fanatics, a firm that sells fan gear, reports a 400% surge in Kelce’s retail sales.
It’s unclear how long the burgeoning romance will keep NFL watchers interested; those in their fifties are all too aware of how rapidly attitudes can change from supporting a new love interest to shunning an ex.
