Taylor Swift is reportedly scheduled to be in attendance at the Meadowlands on Sunday as the Jets host the Chiefs and Swift’s fast friend Travis Kelce on Sunday Night Football. As the NFL world works to stay afoot of the latest Swift goings-on, fans were treated to a classic insider duel online over whether the NFL and the Jets would be handing out Swift-inspired friendship bracelets at the game.
Jordan Schultz, an independent NFL reporter who got the scoop of Swift’s attendance, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the NFL would give fans in attendance bracelets “in honor of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift” and inspired by Swift’s forthcoming rerelease of “1989.”
Sources: The NFL will give away 1989 Sunday Ticket-themed friendship bracelets to #Chiefs’ fans at MetLife Stadium, in “honor of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.”
I’m told the plan is for her to watch from Kelce’s suite for the #Jets’ game. https://t.co/DrllYiJPJE pic.twitter.com/BtAoGBkHbe
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 29, 2023
Then on Friday afternoon a New York-based Jets reporter denied the whole thing.
“That’s not happening,” wrote SNY’s Connor Hughes.
Sources: The NFL & #Jets are NOT giving out friendship bracelets to #Chiefs fans attending Sunday Night Football. That’s not happening.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) September 29, 2023
Zoom out enough and this may just be a mixup of the details. Schultz’s photos clearly highlight the Sunday Ticket branding, which means the bracelet concept could be a YouTube TV-driven giveaway.
Hughes’ report on the other hand insists the league and team are not involved. Both could be true!
The bracelet idea comes from fans at Swift’s Eras Tour who made and shared them among one another throughout the tour this summer. It is admittedly a solid marketing idea from YouTube if it is indeed real.
To their credit, neither Hughes nor Schultz took this too seriously. Schultz moved on to reporting on Damar Hamlin’s game status while Hughes immediately joked about the whole thing.
Later, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport acknowledged he had his ear to the ground but could not provide immediate clarity.
Swift fan accounts were in shambles.
https://twitter.com/TSNewzUpdates/status/1707854075838992761
The saga of the SNF Swift bracelets remains incomplete. We await the next NFL insider to clear it up once and for all.
[Jordan Schultz and Conor Hughes on X]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is an Editorial Lead at Awful Announcing overseeing digital content and special projects. He lives in Phoenix and has covered sports media for Awful Announcing since 2023.