Pretty much everyone in the world has a take on whether the NFL and its media partners are doing too much or too little on the budding relationship between global pop icon Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But what does Kelce himself think about all of the newfound attention?
It’s not like Kelce is a nobody. He was already one of the NFL’s most prominent players as the favorite offensive weapon for a two-time Super Bowl champion. He’s a decent bet to be a future Hall of Famer. But predictably, being linked with Swift has taken his starpower to another level and brought a different kind of attention to Chiefs games.
Swift has attended the last two Chiefs games in person, including in New York on Sunday Night Football in primetime when Kansas City visited the Jets. And of course, Swift (and her entourage of fellow celebs like Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman) were prominently featured throughout the broadcast.
On the New Heights podcast this week, Travis and Jason Kelce talked about the NFL and network coverage of Swift and both said, “You Need to Calm Down.”
Jason and Travis Kelce call out the NFL and NBC for going “overboard” on Taylor Swift coverage. pic.twitter.com/fT0xtn3RjB
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 4, 2023
Jason: “What is your honest opinion on how the NFL is treating celebrities at games?”
Travis: “I think it’s fun when they show who all is at the game. I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings more to what you’re watching. But at the same time…”
Jason: “They’re overdoing it.”
Travis: “They’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation. I think they’re just trying to have fun with it…”
Jason: “I just think the NFL is not used to having celebrities come to the games. Basketball has it figured out. They’re all courtside, they’re sitting there, they show them once or twice and then they get back to the game.”
Could the NFL take a deep breath in showing so much Taylor Swift during games and changing Instagram bios and being all in on the celebrity aspect? Probably? But let’s be real here, this is new territory for the league in the modern age of social media. And Swift’s starpower surpasses that of any NFL player. Given that it’s brand new and there’s still some intrigue over exactly the nature of the Kelce-Swift relationship, of course it’s going to be treated as a huge deal. Will it be the same in Week 10 or Week 17 if it’s still a thing? Probably not. It’s not like Taylor Swift is Jerry Jones or anything.
It’s interesting that they both reference the NBA model as preferred which is usually a quick whiparound of the celebrities in the crowd coming back from a timeout or commercial break and then the action continues. But this is a completely different set of circumstances. It’s not like Swift was shown after every play or anything, but 17 shots of the sweet as the Kelces later said is indeed a lot of cutaways. Could it be 10? Yes! Could it be 25? Yes!
The bottom line is given the interest and ratings that it’s bringing, the NFL and its TV partners were always going to take advantage of the sudden celebrity interest. And as both Travis and Jason Kelce are building a media empire of their own, they likely understand that better than anybody.
[H/T Jimmy Traina]
