Taylor Swift‘s relationship with Travis Kelce has been a touchdown for the NFL, which has benefited in multiple ways since the two publicly became an item in the fall.
On Sept. 24, the rumored romance between the pop superstar and Kansas City Chiefs tight end was seemingly confirmed when Swift was seen cheering on Kelce alongside his mother, Donna, during a game at Arrowhead Stadium. This was great timing for the league, which had just kicked off its 2023-24 season earlier that month. Since then, Swift has attended multiple Chiefs games, and the networks haven’t been shy about indulging in cutaways to the singer, who has occasionally been accompanied by famous pals like Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Cara Delevingne and Sophie Turner.
The NFL and its network partners didn’t waste any time capitalizing on the phenomenon. On Sept. 29, just five days after Swift’s first appearance and before the couple confirmed their relationship, NBC Sports aired a promo titled “Taylor Made for Sunday Night” for a game between the Chiefs and the New York Jets, scored to — you guessed it — Swift’s 1989 opener “Welcome to New York.” The NFL has also continued to churn out a slew of Swift-related content on its social media channels.
No less an authority than NFL commissioner Roger Goodell summed it up succinctly when he told CBS Mornings in November, “I think it’s great for the league to have that kind of attention. We welcome it.”
Aside from being a fun diversion for some NFL viewers (and, inevitably, a source of annoyance for others), the Swift-Kelce connection has proven to be lucrative for the NFL, which has benefited from the pairing in several concrete ways. As a globe-dominating superstar whose Eras Tour has only further catapulted her into the stratosphere, Swift is one of the few celebrities with the power to singlehandedly lift the nation’s most successful sports league even higher. The boost has been particularly strong among the female demographic: Though women previously made up roughly 50% of the viewing audience for NFL games, according to the league, they’ve been tuning in at higher levels than ever before.
See below for all the ways Swift has provided a material benefit to the NFL, the Chiefs organization and Kelce himself since the saga began.
TV Ratings
According to Nielsen, an average of 17.9 million people have watched regular-season NFL games this season, marking a 7% increase from the previous season and the biggest viewership for regular-season games since 2015. Regular-season games notably saw a 9% boost in female viewership — the highest recorded female viewership since the league began keeping records in 2000. While not all of this gain can be attributed to Swift, who has only attended a handful of Chiefs matchups, her presence has consistently boosted the viewing numbers of Chiefs games this season, particularly among women, lifting the overall average.
Swift’s first appearance at a Chiefs game on Sept. 24 resulted in the highest-rated NFL broadcast of the week and the second-highest-rated of the season up to that point with 24.3 million viewers, despite a lopsided score (the Chiefs trounced the Chicago Bears 41-10). It was also the highest-rated NFL game of the week among women in three different age demographics between 12 and 49, according to FOX Sports. The rise in viewership, particularly among women, has only continued for subsequent broadcasts of Chiefs games attended by Swift. The singer’s second appearance at a Chiefs game, on Oct. 1, averaged 27 million viewers, with viewing among girls and women spiking dramatically: Compared with the first three Sunday Night Football broadcasts of the season, ratings grew 53% among girls aged 12 to 17, 24% for women aged 18 to 24 and 34% for women over 35.
That success has continued in the postseason. This week, CBS Sports announced that the Chiefs’ faceoff with the Buffalo Bills on Sunday (Jan. 21), which Swift attended, was the most-watched NFL divisional playoff game ever with 50.393 million viewers — and the most-watched program on any network since the 2023 Super Bowl.
Ticket Sales
After it was reported that Swift would attend the Chiefs’ game against the New York Jets on Oct. 1, multiple online ticket marketplaces reported sales spikes for the matchup, with TicketIQ reporting that prices on the secondary market spiked 43% in the 48 hours after the news broke. In the two weeks following Swift’s first appearance on Sept. 24, StubHub reported that Chiefs home games saw a 235% increase in daily average sales and tickets sold on the online platform.
Social Media
After Swift’s Sept. 24 appearance, the NFL’s social media team was quick to capitalize on the moment. The following day, the league changed the bio on its X (formerly Twitter) account to “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” and its header photo to a picture of her at the game. On TikTok, the league changed its bio to “9/24/23. Taylor was here.”
Clearly, the NFL knew what it had on its hands. The league subsequently reported that Swift’s attendance at the Sept. 24 matchup resulted in record year-over-year week 3 engagement on its social channels, according to The Athletic. Over the same period, the Chiefs grew its social following by 200,000 across accounts, while in the first four days after Swift’s surprise appearance, Kelce gained a whopping 1.3 million followers across his Instagram, X and TikTok accounts, according to UPI (via Socialblade). On Instagram alone, Kelce has gained roughly 2.5 million followers since Sept. 24, according to Socialblade.
Jersey Sales
Following Swift’s Chiefs game debut on Sept. 24, sports retailer Fanatics (the NFL’s official e-commerce partner) reported a 400% increase in sales of Kelce’s No. 87 jersey throughout its network of websites, including NFLShop.com, adding that his jersey had become one of the top five-selling in the NFL. The Chiefs windbreaker Swift donned at the game also sold out. On Travis and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast in December, the siblings also claimed that they had the No. 1 and No. 2-selling jerseys, respectively, in the United Kingdom — a country not exactly known for its love of American football. After Jason stated the obvious — that the spike must be due to Travis’ romance with Swift — Travis replied: “It’s gotta be — it’s the only reasonable solution to all this.”
Future Fans
The future of Swift and Kelce’s romance is unclear, but it seems certain that at least some of Swift’s fans who have tuned into or attended NFL games to catch a glimpse of the pop megastar will become lifelong NFL converts. (Not long after Swift made her first Chiefs game appearance, fans even began teaching each other the rules of football on social media.) “You’ve seen the numbers on how the women’s audience increased. There was just so much social media exposure as well about teaching people about the NFL,” Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of the MS in Sport Management Program and an associate professor at George Washington University, told The Athletic. “I think it was definitely a win for the NFL no matter what happens with this relationship.”
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Taylor Swift's Relationship with Travis Kelce and Its Impact on the NFL
The relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has had a significant impact on the NFL, benefiting the league, the Chiefs organization, and Kelce himself in multiple ways. Since the public confirmation of their relationship, Swift's presence at Chiefs games has led to various tangible benefits for the NFL and its associated entities.
TV Ratings:
- Swift's attendance at Chiefs games has consistently boosted the viewing numbers, particularly among women, resulting in higher viewership for the NFL games she has attended.
- The rise in viewership, especially among women, has been notable, with significant increases in ratings among different age demographics.
Ticket Sales:
- Swift's reported attendance at specific games led to spikes in ticket sales on the secondary market, with prices increasing significantly in the days following the news of her planned attendance.
Social Media:
- The NFL's social media engagement saw a record year-over-year increase following Swift's attendance at a Chiefs game, with the league capitalizing on the moment by changing its social media bios and header photos to feature Swift.
Jersey Sales:
- Following Swift's debut at a Chiefs game, there was a substantial increase in sales of Travis Kelce's jersey, with a reported 400% increase in sales through the NFL's official e-commerce partner.
Future Fans:
- Swift's presence at NFL games has not only led to increased viewership but also has the potential to convert some of her fans into lifelong NFL enthusiasts, contributing to the growth of the league's audience.
In summary, Taylor Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce has had a material and measurable impact on the NFL, contributing to increased viewership, ticket sales, social media engagement, and jersey sales, while also potentially expanding the league's fan base.
Concepts Related to the Article
The concepts related to the article include public speaking, self-concept, introductions, and speech writing. These concepts are relevant to understanding the impact of Taylor Swift's presence on the NFL and the strategies employed by the league to capitalize on the phenomenon.
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Public Speaking: The article mentions the NFL's use of promotional content and engagement strategies to leverage Taylor Swift's presence at Chiefs games, which aligns with the concept of public speaking as a means to inform, persuade, or entertain a group of people through words and visual aids .
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Self-Concept: The article discusses the impact of Taylor Swift's attendance on the viewership of NFL games, particularly among women, which relates to the concept of self-concept and its influence on decision-making and behavior .
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Introductions: The strategies employed by the NFL to capitalize on Taylor Swift's presence, such as changing social media bios and header photos, align with the concept of introductions in public speaking, which aim to motivate the audience and provide background information for context .
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Speech Writing: The article's focus on the NFL's promotional activities and engagement with Taylor Swift's attendance at games relates to the concept of speech writing and the development of effective public speaking skills, including the use of introductions and public speaking tools .
These concepts provide a framework for understanding the communication and promotional strategies employed by the NFL to leverage Taylor Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce for the benefit of the league and its associated entities.
