The National Football League is working to reach a new base: Taylor Swift fans.
While the pop icon is better known for performing at sold-out stadiums across the world, she has attended the past two Kansas City Chiefs games as a fan herself, after some speculation that Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are a couple.
Kelce and Swift have not confirmed their relationship though the pop star was seated in a box normally reserved for his friends and family.
A Virginia Tech sports media expert said the excessive Swift-Kelce coverage is good for the NFL.
“It’s good for the football business, and it’s a unique way to get in front of a new fan base,” said Anthony Amey, a former TV reporter and ESPN anchor.
Amidst dating rumors, jersey sales for Kelce spiked by 400 percent, according to news reports.
Of course, some of Swift’s best songs are about former boyfriends including Drew Hardwick, Jordan Alford, Stephen Liles, Joe Jonas, Cory Monteith, John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, Harry Styles, Conor Kennedy and Jake Gyllenhaal, so no matter what happens with Kelce, it could be a win-win for the NFL. As the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity.
Swifties is the nickname for Taylor Swift fans who are known to be one of the largest and most devoted fan bases. Some of her devotees attended NFL games in hopes of catching a glimpse of the pop star, and others reportedly are brushing up on their football knowledge now that Taylor Swift is interested in the game.
The NFL responded to the Swifties by changing its Twitter, or X, banner to a photo of Swift during a recent game.
The Kelce brothers, Travis and Jason, both play in the NFL. On their podcast this week, the brothers agreed the NFL might be “overdoing it.”
But, Travis said, “I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”
In his sports media and analytics classes at Virginia Tech, Amey said the coverage of Swift during a football game has been a topic of discussion among his students.
During a recent class, Amey said he shared with his students that the NFL as a business, “has no journalistic reason to avoid leveraging the popularity of Taylor Swift and how she will attract new fans for the most profitable sports league in the world.”
Amey said that hardcore football fans wanting to see more football and less entertainment will have to “shake it off,” a clear reference to one of Swift’s most popular songs.
“Even a league as popular and as profitable as the NFL will gladly welcome Taylor Swift and all of her hundreds of millions of followers, because that kind of business is good business for the owners, who know that hardcore fans will watch regardless of who is present or promoted,” he said.
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Crystal Graham
