Taylor Swift may be known for her record breaking performances on the stage and generating absurd amounts of revenue from her concerts. But now she is gaining attention for the effect she is having on the NFL and Travis Kelce. Taylor Swift is supposedly dating the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end, Travis Kelce. As a result, Swift has attended the last two Chiefs games against the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets.
The Swift effect has already been felt by the NFL after the last two games she has attended. When news broke that Swift would be attending the Jets game, the average ticket price for the game shot up 35% to $380 dollars.[1] Ticket platforms such as StubHub and Ticketmaster reported that ticket prices doubled with some seats going for as much as $10,000.[2] Further, Vivid Seats reported that they saw a 126% increase in traffic on its Chiefs ticket page, and a 173% traffic increase on the Chiefs-Jets page following the Chiefs win over the Chicago Bears.[3]
With the NFL constantly looking for ways to expand its audience and promote its product, it appears that it may have found its hidden gem and become Swifties overnight. Last Sunday, the NFL’s X account had nine posts featuring either Kelce or Swift and averaged 4.7 million views per tweet.[4] This past Tuesday, the NFL’s bio on X momentarily read “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” alongside a photo of Swift and Donna Kelce.[5] The NFL even featured Swift’s “Welcome To New York” in the Sunday Night Football official promo video prior to the Chiefs-Jets game.[6]
During the Chiefs-Jets game, the NFL showed Swift nine times.[7] This game was the week’s most watched show, bringing in over 24 million viewers.[8] The NFL even ran a commercial embracing the dating rumors surrounding Swift and Kelce.[9] The game itself was a massive win for the NFL, with the league seeing a 63% jump in viewership in women aged 18 to 49.[10] The game reached over 10 million adults, which was a 61% increase overall, and household reach increased from 2.8 million to 4.4 million.[11] The Chiefs themselves even hopped on the Swiftie rewards train, with an increase in followers of more than 200,000.[12]
Travis Kelce was also a major winner in the Swiftie sweepstakes. Marketers are projecting that Kelce could make as much as $10 million in off-the-field earnings as a result of his romance with Swift.[13] Ever since Swift appeared for the Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears, Kelce’s jerseys saw a 400% increase in merchandise sales.[14] This resulted in the No. 87 jersey jumping into the NFL’s top-five best sellers.[15] This is massive for an NFL player, because players earn a percent of each jersey of theirs sold.
Within one week after Swift was spotted at the Bears game, Kelce’s Instagram following grew by 20%, with 500,000 new followers.[16] With 3.2 million followers, Kelce is now the sixth-most followed NFL player.[17] Travis wasn’t the only brother to benefit from Swift. Travis and his older brother, Jason Kelce, run a podcast together called “New Heights”. As a result of Swift, the “New Heights” podcast jumped to No. 1 on Apple Podcasts and No. 2 on Spotify.[18]
The increase in followers and listeners may result in a big pay day for the brothers. With greater audiences, the brothers will be able to attract more, and bigger, advertisements, meaning more expensive fees the advertising companies have to pay. Additionally, with the following Travis has amassed on Instagram, he could possibly earn up to $500,000 per post for certain advertising campaigns.
Even small businesses have capitalized on Swift’s NFL emergence. On Etsy, more than 4,000 Swift-Kelce t-shirts and other goods have popped up and been sold.[19] There was even a restaurant and its customers who have benefited from Swift. After the Bears game, Kelce and Swift paid for all the meals for everyone eating at the Prime Social Rooftop restaurant in Kansas City on the condition that they left immediately.[20] Kelce and Swift then proceeded to rent out the entire place for an after party, with select invited guests, reportedly until 2 a.m.[21]
It is evident that Swift has impacted the NFL structure as a whole in many different ways. With the increase in viewership and publicity of its “Swift games”, the NFL will be sure to ride this wave for as long as they can. It seems likely that they will take advantage and try to use Swift’s presence to expand its product. The NFL always is finding new ways to make money and better its product, and it looks like that new thing may be – Taylor Swift.
[1] NFL continues to see the Taylor Swift economic boost : NPR
[2] The influence of Swift-Kelce’s rumored romance on businesses (scrippsnews.com)
[3] Taylor Swift Is Affecting The NFL, Chiefs Ticket Markets (frontofficesports.com)
[4] The Taylor Swift Effect on NFL Ratings and the Female Demographic is No Joke – Crossing Broad
[5] Taylor Swift attends Kansas City Chiefs game, boosting sales of Travis Kelce jerseys 400% – CBS News
[6] The Taylor Swift Effect on NFL Ratings and the Female Demographic is No Joke – Crossing Broad
[7] NFL continues to see the Taylor Swift economic boost : NPR
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] How the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance has impacted the NFL: ‘Honestly unlike anything we’ve seen’ – CBSSports.com
[11] The Taylor Swift Effect on NFL Ratings and the Female Demographic is No Joke – Crossing Broad
[12] How the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance has impacted the NFL: ‘Honestly unlike anything we’ve seen’ – CBSSports.com
[13] Travis Kelce could reportedly earn $10M thanks to ‘Taylor Swift effect’ (nypost.com)
[14] Travis Kelce could reportedly earn $10M thanks to ‘Taylor Swift effect’ (nypost.com)
[15] Id.
[16] How Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Partnership Has Affected Sports Business (actionnetwork.com)
[17] Id.
[18] Travis Kelce could reportedly earn $10M thanks to ‘Taylor Swift effect’ (nypost.com)
[19] The influence of Swift-Kelce’s rumored romance on businesses (scrippsnews.com)
[20] How Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Partnership Has Affected Sports Business (actionnetwork.com)
[21] Id.
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