--- description: The NFL might be just as excited as Swifties are about the pop star’s budding romance. title: Taylor Swift Continues to Make the NFL Must-Watch TV image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351181763a6c4053/698a40e0e6e84a42192b089f/Taylor-Swift-NFL-Travis-Kelce.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Taylor Swift Continues to Make the NFL Must-Watch TV by [Koh Ewe](/author/koh-ewe/) ## Koh Ewe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Koh Ewe (Koyu) was a reporter for TIME based in Singapore. Oct 2, 2023 5:00 AM CUT  Taylor Swift cheers at the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Oct. 1, 2023. Taylor Swift cheers at the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Oct. 1, 2023.Elsa—Getty Images by [Koh Ewe](/author/koh-ewe/) ## Koh Ewe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Koh Ewe (Koyu) was a reporter for TIME based in Singapore. Oct 2, 2023 5:00 AM CUT As the Kansas City Chiefs took on the New York Jets on Sunday night, the game was closely followed by an unlikely set of new football enthusiasts: Swifties. [Pop music icon Taylor Swift](https://time.com/3578249/taylor-swift-interview/ "undefined") was spotted cheering from a star-studded suite at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, alongside fellow celebrities Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Sophie Turner, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Jackman, and Antoni Porowski. But more than the action on the field, where the Chiefs narrowly beat the Jets 23-20, what Swift’s fans were really excited about were snippets of the pop star’s reactions to [Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, whom Swift is rumored to be dating](https://time.com/6317898/travis-kelce-taylor-swift-relationship/ "undefined"). > [](https://twitter.com/SwiftNYC/status/1708654934021829077) The NFL is starting to get a taste of the [Taylor Swift effect](https://time.com/6307420/taylor-swift-eras-tour-money-economy/ "undefined"), as her rumored relationship with Kelce has already triggered [skyrocketing ticket sales and viewership](https://time.com/6318993/jets-chiefs-tickets-taylor-swift/ "undefined"). The 12-time Grammy Award winner has proven to bring a [palpable economic impact](https://time.com/6307420/taylor-swift-eras-tour-money-economy/ "undefined") wherever she goes, with her ongoing Eras Tour projected to generate [nearly $5 billion](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2023/06/09/taylor-swifts-the-eras-tour-could-generate-46-billion-for-local-economies/?sh=1e8ea868442d "undefined") in consumer spending in the U.S. alone. She is currently on a break from the tour, which resumes in November in Buenos Aires, Argentina. **Read More:** [_Why You Can't Remember That Taylor Swift Concert All Too Well_](https://time.com/6282468/taylor-swift-concert-memory/ "undefined") As many Swifties find themselves intersecting with football fandom for the first time and [teaching one another the rules](https://time.com/6317151/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-swifties-football/ "undefined") of the game, the NFL is leaning hard into the new attention. When the Chiefs scored a touchdown, Sunday Night Football on NBC posted a clip on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, of the winning moment with a split screen of Swift cheering. > [](https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1708647318977724688) NBC also used Swift's “Welcome to New York” as a soundtrack for its promotional video before the Chief-Jets game. The video, posted on X on Friday, was captioned: “Taylor Made for Sunday Night.” > [](https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1707786485544476960) And last week—after Swift made a surprise appearance at a game between the Chiefs and the Chicago Bears at Kansas City’s home stadium, where she was spotted in a suite watching the game with Kelce’s mother—the league changed its bio on X to “NFL (Taylor’s Version)”—a reference to the albums that Swift has been [re-recording over the last two years](https://time.com/5949979/why-taylor-swift-is-rerecording-old-albums/ "undefined"). After Sunday’s game, the NFL’s [Instagram bio](https://instagram.com/nfl "undefined") was changed to: “chiefs are 2-0 as swifties.” Ian Trombetta, senior vice president of social and influencer marketing at the NFL, said Swift has an [“open invitation”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/30/taylor-swift-nfl-invitation-gen-z-women-viewers/70985249007/ "undefined") to all future games. Swift’s apparent new love interest has turned into a much-needed marketing boost for the NFL, which, like many other sports leagues, has been [struggling to make fans out of a younger generation](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/sports/video-games-nfl-gamers-gen-z.html "undefined") with significantly lower interest in sports. In the three days after Swift’s appearance at the Sept. 24 game, ticketing platform Stubhub saw a [175% increase](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-chiefs-jets-game-travis-kelce-tickets-sales/ "undefined") for the Chiefs-Jets game—now the [second-highest selling game](https://www.reuters.com/sports/taylor-swifts-nfl-era-pop-star-attends-second-chiefs-football-game-2023-10-01/ "undefined") of the NFL season. The total audience for the game [exceeded 24 million](https://www.foxsports.com/presspass/blog/2023/09/26/americas-game-of-the-week-swiftly-scores-the-most-watched-telecast-of-the-week-on-any-network/ "undefined"), making it the most-watched NFL broadcast of the week, amid spikes in interest from women aged 12-49 (not coincidentally Swift’s primary fan demographic). The dating rumors have also sparked interest in Kelce, who [gained over a million Instagram followers](https://sports.yahoo.com/travis-kelce-gains-1-3m-171926267.html "undefined") over the past week. Meanwhile, according to fan merchandise company Fanatics, Kelce’s merchandise sales have [increased 400%](https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-jersey-nfl-d6fc6756069e0c2dc12c0af747941414 "undefined"). **Read more:** [_The Kelce Brothers’ Mom Wishes They Would Call More_](https://time.com/6253873/donna-kelce-super-bowl-interview/ "undefined") It remains to be seen how long the budding romance will continue to fuel viewership for the NFL—Swifties know all too well how quickly sentiments can shift from shipping her with a new beau to [shunning an ex](https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/jake-gyllenhaal-taylor-swift-all-too-well-response.html "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6319422/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-tv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6319422/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-tv/"},"headline":"Taylor Swift Continues to Make the NFL Must-Watch TV","datePublished":"2023-10-02T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:28:32.516Z","description":"The NFL might be just as excited as Swifties are about the pop star’s budding romance.","url":"https://time.com/6319422/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-tv/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351181763a6c4053/698a40e0e6e84a42192b089f/Taylor-Swift-NFL-Travis-Kelce.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Koh Ewe","jobTitle":"Koh Ewe (Koyu) was a reporter for TIME based in Singapore.","url":"https://time.com/author/koh-ewe/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351181763a6c4053/698a40e0e6e84a42192b089f/Taylor-Swift-NFL-Travis-Kelce.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kansas City Chiefs v New York Jets","caption":"Kansas City Chiefs v New York Jets","creditText":"Elsa—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6319422/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-tv/","name":"Taylor Swift Continues to Make the NFL Must-Watch TV"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Travis Kelce Opens Up About Taylor Swift Relationship Rumors","description":"Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce calls Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs' victory over the Chicago Bears “pretty bold” but wants to remain private about any relationship with the superstar singer.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/JmtTIqXc/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-09-27T20:51:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JmtTIqXc.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6319422/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-tv/","duration":"PT2M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6319422/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-tv/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```