Sports Illustrated

Taylor Swift at the Kansas City Chiefs’ game on September 24, 2023 sitting in a booth with Kelce’s family.

When you think of the NFL, images of football, helmets, and sporty men usually pop up in your mind. However, more recently, you might think of Taylor Swift instead. If you have not watched the NFL Kansas City Chiefs’ last two games, you may have missed seeing Taylor Swift pop up on your screen. But why is Taylor suddenly coming to football games? And why is the NFL all over the story? Let’s go to the real backbone of the story: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. 

Travis Kelce is a tight-end player for the Kansas City Chiefs and is often regarded as one of the best tight-end players ever. Kelce had previously stated that he had a little crush on the big pop star and said that he tried to give her a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. Many fans only saw this as an innocent crush. However, fans started to freak out and speculate when Taylor Swift showed up at the Chiefs game with Kelce’s mom on September 24. Swift and Kelce were also seen leaving the game together, which caused fans to confirm the dating rumors between them. Swift also most recently watched the last Chiefs’ game on October 1 with notable celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Jackman, and Blake Lively. 

The most exciting part about the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce romance is the way the NFL has been using it to promote their own social media accounts. When Swift was spotted at the game on September 24, the NFL hopped right on the story and posted a number of TikToks about Swift being at the game, including a video of Kelce looking lovingly up at Swift in the booth. The Swift content on the NFL social media has been coming nonstop, and they are reveling in it all. They even changed their TikTok bio to “9/24/23. Taylor was here,” then changed it to “10/1/23. Taylor’s back,” when Swift came to the game for a second time. 

But why is the NFL focusing so much on Taylor Swift? Why are they using Swift’s image to boost their social media platforms? Personally, I think it is an excellent advertising move on the NFL’s part. Before Swift showed her face at the Chiefs’ game, many of Swift’s fans were not interested in football, nor did they know who Travis Kelce was. Posting a lot about Swift on the NFL social media appeals to a whole new demographic of “Swifties” and boosts them. Like most Swifties, Faith Alam (11) has examined the NFL and Swift advertisement move and remarks that “By using Taylor Swift to boost their social media platforms, the NFL is bringing an entirely new demographic of people who are normally not into football […] I believe the NFL is fully aware of all the light this situation is getting. They must like all the new fans the story has brought, so they constantly use their social media to promote it.”

Especially on TikTok, many Swifties are learning the rules of football and are now turning on the NFL channel to watch, many of them saying they are only watching it because Taylor Swift is watching it. By posting a lot about Taylor Swift on the NFL’s social media platforms it boosts the popularity of the NFL and helps gain traction. Taylor Swift has brought a whole new line of fans to the NFL, and the NFL is brilliant for using her image to boost their social media platforms. As long as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce work out in the long run, the NFL will forever gain a whole new set of fans.