The Kansas City Chiefs were in New Jersey to take on the New York Jets, but that didn’t get any attention.
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For some time now, it’s been the fresh relationship between pop star Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce that’s been causing a stir.
All weekend, New York newspapers followed the Pennsylvania singer’s actions.
According to the New York Post’s Page Six, Swift was spotted with Brittany Mahomes, the wife of quarterback Pat Mahomes. British actress Sophie Turner, a good friend of Swift, accompanied her to a restaurant in SoHo where they had dinner.
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Financial significance
Taylor Swift has been one of the brightest stars in the American pop firmament for around fifteen years and her name is a guarantee of success.
His entry into the NFL landscape is a blessing for the league as we now find two very strong names in American popular culture now linked together.
For example, since Swift was spotted at the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears a week ago, sales of Kelce merchandise have skyrocketed 400% and her jersey is now one of the top five items sold more.
His history with Kelce also helped the Chiefs grow their television audience. At the last game, 24.3 million people were glued to their televisions, many of whom were just hoping to see Taylor Swift.
Huge popularity
It’s worth remembering that Swift, who turns 34 in December, doesn’t need the NFL to pay her bills. She has enjoyed great popularity since she released her first album in 2006, when she was just 16 years old.
Since the beginning of her career, she has released around ten albums and appeared in half a dozen films.
It would be worth $740 million (CAD$1 billion), according to an estimate by Forbes in June last year. This makes her the American artist whose sole source of income is the richest music in history. In addition, his current tour has generated ticket sales of more than 2.2 billion euros.
His videos are widely viewed online. She has 54.3 million subscribers on YouTube, where her videos have been viewed over 31 billion times.
She is even more popular on Instagram, where she is followed by 273 million people. On Facebook, the statistics are more modest with 79 million subscribers.
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On invitation
The public aspect of this story began last week when Taylor Swift accepted an invitation from Kelce to watch the Chiefs-Bears game in a box in Kansas City.
The singer appeared in a Kansas City-style windbreaker and sat next to mother Kelce. She was seen drinking vodka and cranberry cocktails and cleaning up before leaving at the end of the meeting.
In the Chiefs’ stunning 41-0 victory over the poor Bears, Kelce scored a touchdown and Swift’s reaction went viral.
Swift and Kelce then left the stadium together to attend a team party, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes even giving them his blessing, calling the singer “cool” and a “good person.”
Even Bill Belichick got involved. In an interview with a Boston radio station, the legendary coach said, “Kelce has had a lot of big catches in his career, but this was the biggest.” You can’t make that up.
All that remains to be seen is whether it will last. Skeptics believe there is something to be gained from both. Swift will debut the concert film The Eras Tour in two weeks, while Kelce enjoys the cameras and prepares for her post-career career by hosting a podcast with her brother Jason, a Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman.
Only time will tell if it was love or if the cynics were right.