Taylor Swift made a splash on the NFL stage a little over two years ago. Since then, what has her impact been on the sport and the NFL fandom?
While Swift is a fiancee cheering on her man from the stands, her celebrity force is undeniable.
Cheryl Cooky, a professor of American studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Purdue University, said Swift has provided a disruptive force to NFL fandom.
“What Taylor Swift did was to really, I think, disrupt how we think about NFL fandom, and to carve out a space for girls and women and those outside of, you know, that sort of stereotype of the NFL fan to engage with the NFL and to find joy and pleasure and watching the game for reasons that maybe didn’t have much to do with what was happening on the field, but what was happening off the field, which isn’t necessarily seen as being a ‘legitimate fan,’” Cooky said.
Cooky describes Swift as “a catalyst” for discussing women’s roles within the NFL, and how the reason some fans tune in might look different than simply watching the game.
Many Swifties I talked to described the reasons they tune into the game. Multiple Swift fans said they like to watch to see what Swift is wearing to the game.
The first Super Bowl Swift attended drew 58.8 million women, which was the “most ever, and an increase” of 9% from the previous year, Rayn Glasspiegel of the New York Post told Sports Business Journal.
“She’s creating revenue for the league,” Cooky said. “She’s creating revenue for the Kansas City team. She’s expanding the fan base for the NFL in ways, I think, that are probably more effective than the NFL itself has done in terms of some of their different campaigns, marketing campaigns to increase or include women into the NFL fan base.”
Following the announcement of Swift’s engagement to Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, sales of Kelce’s jerseys soared. Online sports gear platform Fanatics revealed to TMZ Sports that jersey sales for No. 87 on the Chiefs spiked 200% following the announcement made on a Tuesday morning.
In The Eras Tour documentary series “The End of an Era,” Swift mused that she believes every 12th person in the audience at her shows was wearing one of his jerseys.
It’s not just at NFL games where Swift has appeared in a male-dominated sports space. She also made an appearance this year on Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” which he records with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce. The episode on which she appeared is still the highest-viewed podcast in YouTube history.
“If Taylor is doing something, her fan base is going to follow her to whatever space, because she’s cultivated that kind of relationship with her fans,” Cooky said. “And the fact that this is about her relationship and her romantic life specifically, which has been so central to her music, I think also was drawing fans in as well.”
But not everyone is necessarily a fan of Swift receiving so much media attention during the games. Some NFL fans see it as a distraction from the game.
Swift laughs off the scrutiny with a good-natured nod and shake of the head.
Perry B. Johnson, a professor at the University of Southern California, argues that the NFL and any other sports program would be thrilled to have Swift around to help drive interest and revenue into the product.
“Part of this, this willingness by the NFL to participate in in the presentation of this relationship, suggests to us that there is more economic value to be gained from participating in this,” Johnson said.
She also pointed out that this is not the first time a celebrity has been highlighted during a game.
“Teams are working with artists, teams do invite certain figures to sit courtside too, because they see the value of, you know, what does it mean to photograph Timothy Chalamet at a Knicks game,” Johnson said. “That is valuable because people are tuning in who may not otherwise tune in because they want to see him sitting courtside.”
With Kelce’s potential retirement looming, her influence might look a little different, but whatever it looks like, her fans will be there.
Johnson credits Swift’s rabid fan base for bringing so much interest to the games because of Swift’s attendance.
“She has sway,” Johnson said. “She has power, in part because she commands a very loyal, very dedicated, very invested fan base and a fan base that has been with her for decades, a fan base that shows up for her, not just in terms of streaming music, but that shows up, that dresses up for her at these shows, right? That buys merch, that buys tickets, that will go see her show, not only once, but many times over, and will travel the world for her.”
