Travis Kelce put in a strong showing on Sunday afternoon as his Kansas City Chiefs walloped the Chicago Bears. The tight end had seven receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown, which made him the leading receiver on his team.
But to understand why Kelce’s social media follower count and jersey sales are skyrocketing right now, you have to know more than how he performed on the field.
The factor that explains Kelce’s unique week is actually pop star Taylor Swift, who sat next to Kelce’s mom, Donna, during the game and left with the tight end after it ended.
Taylor Swift fuels bump in Kelce jersey sales
Rumors had swirled last week that Swift and Kelce were dating, but Swift’s presence at Sunday’s game was still a surprise to millions of football and pop music fans.
Many of Swift’s devoted followers, known as Swifties around the world, took to social media during and after the game to discuss football, including the rules of the game.
They also apparently found ways to show support for Kelce while they were online.
- Sales of Kelce merchandise on Fanatics have spiked 400% since Sunday, according to Front Office Sports.
- As of Monday, Kelce’s jersey was the No. 2 overall seller on the NFL Fanshop.
- Kelce has gained more than 300,000 Instagram followers in the past week, more than he gained earlier this year when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, Front Office Sports noted.
Chiefs-Bears viewership
Kelce’s new connection with Swift is also benefitting the NFL as a whole.
“Data from Roku TVs shows Chiefs-Bears saw a 63% increase in female viewers age 18-49 over Chiefs-Jags last week,” reported David Rumsey of Front Office Sports on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
In a nod to Swifties’ new interest in NFL football, the league updated some of its social media accounts to add shoutouts to Swift.
- On X, the NFL account bio now reads “NFL (Taylor’s Version).”
- The NFL’s TikTok account says, “9/24/23. Taylor was here.”