Why Taylor Swift is Good For Football

People throw rocks at things that shine.

There’s been many grumblings from forty-five-year-old uncles across the country on how damn annoying it is to see Taylor Swift during football games. How dare she hurl herself into our game? The game where us lifelong fans have suffered heartbreak, sat in the frigid cold stadiums in December, and tasted the sweet glory of victory, made sweeter from the trials and tribulations endured season over season. Who the hell does she think she is?

She’s Taylor goddamn Swift, and she’s got more money than Davey Crockett and couldn't give a damn what the dads, Brads, and Chads think about her watching a ballgame. Taylor Swift is a billionaire. According to reports, her recent Eras Tour alone generated her an estimated $4 billion in revenue. She regularly sells out stadiums that are double the size of Arrowhead Stadium. She’s sold out Arrowhead more than once and she continues to put asses in seats when she attends Chiefs games.

Sports are a communal affair, at least that’s how it should be. In life, experiences are best shared with other people, especially the ones that we love and enjoy the company of. Is a delicious meal truly a splendid meal if there’s no one there to share it with? Is a Stones concert worth jamming out to if there’s no one there to jam with? I’ve always viewed sports as the same. It’s why I enjoy writing about sports—it's the community aspect of it. It's the explanation for why we retreat to cramped man caves, snacking on stale chips and sipping lukewarm shitty dad beers. The reason is to share the excitement and pageantry of the game with other humans. So we can yell in unison at that poor kicker that shanked the game tying kick to get his worthless ass off the field. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

Taylor has introduced the game of football to hundreds, if not thousands, of new fans. New fans that will buy jerseys, attend games, and join us in our (man)caves for an IC Light and some shit talk. It’s good for the game and it’s good for us fans. Football is an incredible, magical sport and any time we can share these incredible moments with more people, it’s a collective win for us all. Plus, do you see how all freakin’ out these Swifties go for concerts? Bring that type of energy to NFL Sundays and they’ll fit in just fine.

Listen, Taylor can’t control when and how often the camera swings her way during the game’s broadcast any more than we can. This decision is entirely up to the broadcasters, it’s not even up to the NFL. The fact is, people go ape shit when the camera sways her way and catches an excited Taylor screaming “Lets fucking go!” (football fan status achieved), whether the reaction is praise or outrage. Any press is good press, right? It gets the people talking. In reality, they don't show her all that much during a broadcast. The broadcasters only dedicated a total of 21 seconds to her during the Chiefs-Bears game back in September, which is less than 11% of the total broadcast.

Attention plus revenue equals availability. Simply, the more attention and money the NFL gains, the more they’ll want to push their product in order to make even more and get even more views. This could come in the form of games being easier to stream, games being played in more locations, or having more football games in a year. I’ll take all three please.

Lets get down to brass tax. Taylor Swift makes the NFL a metric shit ton of money. Whether this be from viewership, merchandise sales, or ticket sales, her and her loyal gang of Swifties rake it in for the league. The NFL is tapping into a new golden pocket of a demographic it never imagined it would conquer.

According to Front Office Sports, Taylor Swift has generated an astounding $331.5 million in brand value for the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL. We calculate this number by considering media that mentions Swift and the NFL, including print, digital, radio, TV, highlights, and social media. Then, we assign a dollar amount to each instance based on impact and reach. T-Swizzle’s impact reaches far beyond brand though, she has also influenced who is tuning in and paying out. The league has an increased viewership from female and young fans, jacked up by 9% from years previous and the highest number since they began tracking viewer demographics in 2000. The phenomenon known as the Swiftie effect is in full swing and its impact can be easily measured with some quick “girl math.” NFL plus Taylor equals cha-ching.

More people than ever are watching pivotal NFL matchups, whether this is Swift induced or not. Last year’s divisional matchup for the Chiefs against the Jacksonville Jaguars drew a viewership of 34.4 million. This year’s divisional battle against the Bills brought in a boosted 50.4 million viewers. Do we think this major leap in the numbers is because of the hype surrounding Bills’ safety Jordan Poyer’s sick hand panning skills? Unlikely.

The Chiefs battled the Baltimore Ravens this past weekend in the AFC Conference Championship. In attendance in hostile Baltimore territory was the loyal girlfriend, Taylor Swift, there to support her now all time playoff reception leading boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Travis went off for 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown, boosting the Chiefs past the Ravens and into a berth in the Super Bowl. The game had everything a Kansas City fan could ask for, big plays from Kelce, solid, ground digging runs from Pacheco, acrobatic evasions from Patrick Mahomes, and enthusiastic reactions from Taylor Swift.

Why can’t these things live happily together? The NFL is an entertainment business at its core, after all. I, for one, am happy to see the scrappiness of the gridiron paired with a good ole fashioned love story. We all loved the show Friday Night Lights, didn’t we? (Tim Riggins is the shit).

Whether we love it or hate it, it isn’t going anywhere, so we might as well just accept it. The lead up to the Super Bowl is bound to have plenty of noise surrounding the Swift–Kelce romance, and we have an extra week in there for even more hard-hitting journalism about what rings Taylor Swift is wearing! But I challenge us football fans to keep an open mind surrounding our newly allied football brethren (or sisteren). Offer up a beer (or vodka cran) and a seat at the table to talk all things football and fabulous jackets. Answer questions they may have about the game without sounding like a know-it-all asshole. Because we all have a blank space, baby. And we love the game.

Dan, a bona fide sports and data geek, hails from the wilds of Western Pennsylvania with an undying passion for the Stillers, Pens, and Buccos. Dan has embarked on an exciting sports writing journey, ready to subject the world to his unique blend of enthusiasm, questionable insights, and yinzer homerism. Find him and his laptop in the corner of a Starbucks near you.