The relationship between pop star Taylor Swift, and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has brought a massive fan base into the NFL. It is undeniable that Swift’s appearance during Chiefs games brings a tremendous amount of additional popularity and excitement to the NFL games due to her massive and committed fanbase. However, the NFL is overusing her name and identity for publicity, overshadowing the sport itself.
When rumors that Swift and Kelce were romantically involved emerged, many Swifties tuned in for a Sunday night Chiefs game against the Bears having never watched football before. Swift brought in two million additional female viewers to the NFL viewership throughout her appearances at games. Some hoped to catch a glimpse of Swift in the Kelce family and friends box, others simply wanted to size up Kelce.
The NFL has without a doubt milked the relationship and the appearance of Swift at Chief’s games relentlessly. Swift and Kelce have become publicity gold mines for the NFL, from their social media platforms to the lyrics referenced during games.
As a fan of Swift and the Chiefs, I appreciate the content and entertainment, but the couple’s privacy should be respected. Swift’s previous relationship with Joe Alwyn, an actor best known for his role in “Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends,” was extremely private and the public only saw what Swift wanted them to see. Having that much secrecy around her six-year relationship with Alwyn, the shift to her blossoming and very public romance with Kelce is a stark difference leading me to wonder if this magnitude of publicity is what they want.
On the “New Heights” podcast hosted by Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce, they discussed whether the NFL coverage of the relationship was crossing the line to “too much.”
Travis said, “I think it’s fun when they show who all is at the game,” but, “they’re overdoing it a little bit for sure.”
Jason added, “The NFL is like, ‘Look at all these A-list celebrities at the game! Show them! Show them!’ Dude, show them once and get a little clip, but you can’t be overboard with it.”
The NFL released a rather pathetic statement to People Magazine arguing that “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.”
I can not argue with the fact that the large jump inNFL viewership is enticing enough to continue coverage during games and on social media. What I can argue is that if the NFL wants to keep those numbers and viewers, they have to make those viewers fall in love with the sport. Sure, Swift brought them there, but the NFL should be working to make sure they stay even if the relationship between Swift and Kelce comes to an end.
While I agree that the publicity and positivity the relationship brings to the NFL is entertaining to keep up with, the sport itself has become increasingly lost in the oversaturation of coverage. Celebrities deserve privacy in certain aspects of their life and milking the relationship for clicks and views is an unfair amount of pressure to place on anybody. Instead of sports analysts and podcasts talking about the games, the players, and the matchups to come, most social media discourse and press conferences with Kelce are about Swift. It is certainly exciting, but privacy and the spirit of football are drowned by all of the coverage.
