All The Ways Taylor Swift Has Already Changed The NFL
The National Football League should just change their name to the National Taylor League at this point. Taylor Swift has taken over the football world — and not just by selling out the stadiums for her Eras Tour.
Swift's rumored romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has become all the buzz. Ever since Kelce revealed on the "New Heights" podcast that he was interested in the Grammy-winning musician, Swifties haven't stopped talking about their potential romance. Swift added fuel to the fire after she attended two of Kelce's games. In September, Swift made an appearance at the Chiefs vs. the Chicago Bears game, per NBC News. Although they have yet to confirm their romance, it seemed evident to fans that the "Karma" singer was there to cheer for Kelce. The game might as well have been just a distraction from the real conversation that was Swift.
Even after the game ended, Swift was all the rage. Anywhere you looked, it was all about the musician and what she was doing with the football star. This only continued when she attended Kelce's game the following week, this time with an entire posse that included Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and many more famous faces, per NBC News. Once again, Swift dominated social media, television, radio, newspapers, you name it... she was the headline of it all! Although she has only made two game appearances, Swift has truly changed the NFL for good.
NFL ticket sales are on the rise
Lately, Kansas City Chiefs tickets might be as hard to come by as an Eras Tour ticket. Okay, maybe it's a bit easier, but Taylor Swift's appearance at two Chiefs games has caused quite an uproar in ticket sales.
After the "All Too Well" singer attended the September Chiefs vs. Bears game, ticket sales increased for the Kansas football team. A StubHub representative spoke to CBS, revealing they saw a three-fold increase in ticket sales for Chiefs home games just 24 hours after Swift attended the football game. Not just that, but searches for Chiefs game tickets also increased. Swifties have been gearing up for games hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star even if she's not performing.
Fans even expected Swift to appear at the October 1 Chiefs vs. New York Jets game. Because of this, StubHub saw a 175% increase in Chiefs-Jets tickets within three days after she attended the football game in September, per CBS. And it wasn't just StubHub — SeatGeek also saw a 26% increase in ticket prices in the days that followed Swift's appearance. Tickets jumped from an average of $168 to $245! Swifties even looked ahead at purchasing tickets for the October 8 Chiefs game vs. the Minnesota Vikings, which saw a traffic increase of 121% (although Swift ultimately did not attend). Still, the uptick in sales and searches for NFL games is all thanks to Swift!
Taylor Swift is reaching Super Bowl heights
Is it the Super Bowl? Nope, just a casual preseason NFL game with Taylor Swift in the stands, but based on viewership, you'd probably think otherwise. Swift has slowly taken over the NFL world as her fans have flocked to their television screens to watch the superstar on the sidelines of the Kansas City Chiefs games.
The "Love Story" singer's appearance at some games has increased viewership exponentially. According to Fox Sports (via USA Today), when Swift attended the September Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game, the amount of viewers reached a high of 24.3 million! To put her effect into perspective, a typical preseason game gets around 16.7 million viewers, per Statista. Swift nearly increased average viewership by 10 million! The momentum only continued the following week when Swift attended her second Chiefs game.
On October 1, Swifties from all over the U.S. grabbed their remotes and sat down for the Chiefs game as if it was an Eras Tour concert. Swift attended the game with an entourage of famous Hollywood friends and viewers were eager to see the musician cheering from the sidelines. Viewership increased to a whopping 27 million! According to CNN, that number made the game the most-watched NFL game since the 2023 Super Bowl, peaking at 29.4 million viewers. From ticket sales to television viewership, Swift's impact across the NFL board has been incredible to say the least.
Tailgating? More like Taylor-gating
Grab your friendship bracelets and Travis Kelce jerseys because the Swifties are going Taylor-gating. That's right, fans of the pop star have given tailgating a whole new meaning. It all started when Swift embarked on her Eras Tour. Many fans were left empty-handed, as they were unable to snatch tickets. Swifties didn't let that ruin their fun, though, as many drove to the stadiums anyway and began "Taylor-gating" at the venues, per Today. Hundreds of Swifties gathered outside and sang and danced along to the "All Too Well" singer's performances. Now that the Eras Tour has come to an end in North America, fans are using Swift's appearances at the Kansas City Chiefs games to Taylor-gait once again.
Ahead of the Chiefs vs. New York Jets game, Swifties flooded the tailgating atmosphere, per The New York Times. The NFL welcomed a new audience as fans made t-shirts nodding to Swift's speculated romance with Travis Kelce, Taylor-gating outside until it was time to go in. One Swiftie, who made a shirt with the question, "Where's Taylor?" told the outlet, "We had about 50 people come up to us and ask to take photos. I've never had more fun at a Jets game in my life." From the Eras Tour to NFL games, Swifties are ready to Taylor-gate anywhere and everywhere for the "Bejeweled" singer.
Taylor Swift recruited a new NFL audience
The NFL is experiencing the Taylor Swift effect. As we know viewership for football games, particularly Kansas City Chiefs games, has increased since the musician made an appearance. The increase in viewership is due to the fact that she brings a new audience to the NFL. According to Fox Sports (via USA Today), the September Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game attracted a new crowd, becoming the highest-rated football game watched that weekend among women in three different age groups. Females age 12-17, 18-34, and 18-49 tuned in to watch the "Karma" singer cheer on Travis Kelce from the sidelines.
The NFL hopes these new Swiftie viewers are here to stay, per the New York Post. Ian Trombetta, the NFL's senior vice president of social, influencer and content marketing revealed that the latest games have been a perfect blend of "pop culture and sports colliding," and the NFL could not be more ecstatic. Trombetta shared, "Hopefully those — especially the young women — that have now gained an interest in not only Travis Kelce but the NFL more broadly, can stay with us throughout the year and years to come." Although some may say this new audience is just a phase, there's no doubt Swift and her fans are a force to be reckoned with.
Taylor Swift's influence on NFL marketing
The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce saga has been every NFL marketer's dream. The league sees Swift and her fans as an opportunity to gain new followers, particularly through social media.
After Swift cheered on Kelce at the September game, the NFL's TikTok page changed its bio to "9/24/23 Taylor was here," according to X. The league also changed its header on X, formerly known as Twitter, to a photo of Swift at the game. The bio read, "NFL (Taylor's Version.)" This NFL's social media frenzy surrounding Swift continued the following week.
After Swift attended the Chiefs vs. Jets game in October, the NFL changed its header and bio on X once more. New photos of Swift at the game replaced the older images, and its bio read, "We had the best day with you today," a reference to Swift's song "The Best Day." But has it become too much? Some football fans seem to think so. Still, the NFL has reassured that it "frequently change[s]" its social media based on games that are currently happening, per Today. They shared, "The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we've leaned into in real time, as it's an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we've seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport." Unless Swift and Kelce break up their rumored relationship, we don't think the NFL will stop marketing toward Swifties.