Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship in the NFL gets the uncomfortable “truth” from ESPN reporter

“The NFL knows something you may not.”  These were the words of ESPN host Samantha Ponder, during a segment on Sunday NFL Countdown in which she dealt some harsh truths about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship and its effect on the NFL.  The remarkable part is how clairvoyant Ponder’s words proved to be. The video is a few months old, featuring clips from the first Kansas City Chiefs game Swift attended, when their romance was still little more than a rumor.

At the time, she called Travis Kelce “an unknown player at an unknown position in the international world Miss Swift inhabits,” which couldn’t be futher from the truth now. However, the part that stuck with Taylor Swift’s fans and caused the video to resurface was the foresight of how the relationship would be a boon for the league.

“The Taylor Swift economy is good for the game you love,” she aimed at fans who didn’t like how much coverage the high-profile couple received.   “Swifties are good for the sport,” she asserted, complete with a classic Kelce-ism: “alright now!”

The impact of Swift and Kelce’s relationship on the NFL

In fact, Ponder was correct that Swift’s entry into the NFL’s orbit would prove beneficial to the league, especially from an economic standpoint.  The pop star’s first public appearance in support of Kelce made that Chiefs-Bears game the most watched of the week with just under 25 million viewers. Afterward, Travis Kelce’s No. 87 Chiefs jersey jolted 400% in sales and became one of the top 5 best-selling jerseys on Fanatics.com.

The Sunday Night Football game the following week in New York peaked at 29 million viewers, more than any other Sunday TV broadcast since the Super Bowl. It carried an impressive boost of 2 million female viewers over previous weeks.

The Kelce social media growth train keeps rolling. In the past seven days, Travis Kelce has gained over 330,000 Instagram followers; the next closest player is Jason Kelce with over 115,000, then Patrick Mahomes with over 48,000, per @bknown_ . Since the Bears-Chiefs game ended,… pic.twitter.com/yzEethkVFv

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 8, 2023

Social media provides an even more stark example. It took “Killa Trav” 23 months for his Instagram account to reach its first 1.1 million followers. He gained the same amount in just 14 days after that famous Chiefs-Bears contest, and his Instagram now boasts over 5 million followers. It’s all thanks to the Swifties, who also helped take his New Heights Podcast (and Christmas single for charity) with his brother, Jason Kelce, to number 1 on the charts.