The love story between Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce has had a strong impact on the football world, stimulating consumer demand and increasing revenue in many industries in the US.

The Super Bowl is the annual championship of the NFL, the biggest sports event in the US. This season, which took place on February 12, the Kansas City Chiefs – Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s team – defeated the San Francisco 49ers, winning the championship with a score of 25 – 22. The match attracted over 120 million views across all platforms, breaking the record of 115 million views in 2023. According to the Daily Mail, this live event had a viewership only second to the moon landing of Apollo 11 in 1969.

According to a survey by market research company Numerator, 20% of people watched the tournament to support the relationship between player Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. About 48% of people supported Travis Kelce’s team, 37% for the 49ers.

Fox News reported that about 58.8 million female fans watched the Super Bowl 2024, accounting for 47.5% of the total, up 9% from last year. Before the match took place, RadioTimes conducted a survey, determining that 51% of participants were Swifties (the name of Taylor Swift’s fan community) in the UK who wanted to watch the event.

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce together with Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly celebrating after Super Bowl

Wove’s revenue – the brand that designs double diamond rings for the star couple – increased by 470% after Taylor Swift wore the product at the AFC Championship on January 28. According to Apex Marketing Group – a sports and entertainment company specializing in evaluating sponsorship activities and advertising campaigns – Taylor and Travis’s love story brought in more than $330 million for the NFL and Chiefs, from September 2023 to January 22 this year.

The “stormy” kiss of the two stars after the Super Bowl on Feb. 11

In September 2023, Taylor Swift first appeared at the stadium to cheer for Travis Kelce in the match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears. The interaction of the star couple helped Travis’s Instagram increase by 300,000 followers. CBS Sports reported that his jersey sales increased by 400% just 24 hours after Taylor appeared, ranking in the top five players with the best-selling jerseys in the NFL (National Football League).

Their relationship also stimulated consumer demand, boosting the economy of Kansas (US) – where Travis Kelce lives and plays. Tim Cowden – chairman of the city’s economic development council – said: “We can’t estimate the specific number. Taylor has brought great opportunities here”.

A representative of the ticket agency StubHub said thanks to Taylor Swift, the number of people buying tickets to watch the match between Travis Kelce’s team and the Chicago Bears increased three times in just 24 hours. The number of visits to information about the Kansas City Chiefs on the website tripled compared to normal days, and the number of people searching for Taylor Swift on StubHub increased by 20%.

The “Taylor Swift Effect” also affected the commercial industry. According to The Sporting News, although she did not appear in the short videos shown at the Super Bowl, the news of Taylor’s participation caused many brands to compete for broadcast slots at the event. Brands spent about seven million USD for 30 seconds of advertising, targeting young customers watching the match.

The relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce not only promoted the biggest sports event in the US, but they also increased the revenue of fashion brands. According to statistics from the Launchmetrics platform, appearing on television for less than a minute, Taylor created a media impact value (MIV) of 180 million USD.

Fashion technology company Lyst said that the search for Taylor’s Area brand slit pants increased by 311%, causing the blue and black versions of this design to “sell out”. In addition, the number of people searching for the Area fashion house increased by 210% within 48 hours after the program.

Taylor’s boyfriend also caused a fashion sensation throughout the season by wearing outfits from Kidsuper and Collina Strada. Backstage, Travis Kelce impressed with a full sequin denim set from Amiri – causing the fashion house’s search volume to increase by 317%, bringing in $312,000 MIV for the brand.

Behind the positive things Taylor Swift brought to the American football industry, public opinion had mixed reactions to her cheering performances. USA Today reported that while many people support the singer, some individuals think she takes too much public attention, overshadowing the Chiefs’ performance. A few male fans were not pleased with the superstar’s appearance.

Speaking about Taylor Swift’s presence, Tony Dungy – former NFL coach – said: “This makes many people lose interest in sports today. Many extraneous things interfere – such as entertainment factors and other values – taking away the glory of what happens on the field.”

Some people likened Taylor Swift to the “Yoko Ono of sports” because she could negatively affect her boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, according to USA Today. They believe that the 34-year-old singer’s cheering exploits the NFL and Travis to polish her own fame.

Responding to the allegations, Cheryl Cooky – a professor at Purdue University who specializes in researching the intersection of gender, sports, and culture – told USA Today: “Taylor Swift is a scapegoat for men’s complaints about the changing gender order in the NFL, extending to the entire culture. In another way, the problem is not with Taylor but with the fragile masculinity of the fans, and the remnants of old-fashioned masculinity in the fan perspective.” This means they find it hard to accept the appearance of a female star at the “sanctuary” of men. “There are still some people who think that the grass field is forbidden to women and values belonging to femininity,” Cooky added.

Taylor Swift often comes to watch football matches to cheer for her boyfriend. Photo: WWD 

From England, Adele expressed her support for Taylor Swift in an interview with Variety on February 11, she said: “I’m a bit torn because I want the 49ers to win, but still want the Chiefs to be champions because of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. To those who complain about Taylor attending many tournaments, mind your own life, that’s her boyfriend. Her appearance makes the match more interesting.”

Taylor Swift, 35 years old, is dubbed the “country music princess” of the American music scene. She debuted in 2006 and soon achieved many achievements, receiving 12 Grammy awards, 29 Billboard awards, and succeeded with many international tours. In December 2023, the Guinness organization recognized the artist’s Eras Tour as the highest-grossing tour of all time, reaching over one billion USD.

Travis Kelce, the same age as Taylor, is an American football superstar from the Kansas City Chiefs. He continuously set many NFL records. Before pairing with Taylor, the player dated model Kayla Nicole for 5 years, breaking up in May 2022.

The love story of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce began when Travis attracted Taylor’s attention at the Eras Tour concert in July 2023 in Kansas (US). They kept their relationship private to get to know each other. After two months, Taylor and Travis publicly expressed their feelings, since then, the singer often appears in her boyfriend’s matches.