Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce told his brother Jason on their New Heights podcast that the NFL is overreacting to the Taylor Swift coverage. UPDATE: The NFL has responded.
The Grammy-winning pop star and Kelce have captured the media zeitgeist in recent weeks amid dating rumours. While neither has confirmed a relationship outright, Swift has created a media frenzy by recently attending two Kansas City Chiefs games. She was joined by famous friends including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Sophie Turner and more at the Chiefs’ game against the New York Jets on 1 October, as the NFL broadcast frequently cut to Swift in the stands.
Is the NFL overdoing it?” Jason asked Travis on the podcast. “Take away your feelings about Taylor Swift.”
“I think it’s fun when they show who’s at the game,” Travis replied. “I think it adds a little bit more to the atmosphere, adds a little bit more to what you’re watching. But at the same time they’re probably overdoing it a little bit… especially my situation. I think they’re trying to have fun with it.
Travis later said that celebrities who attend football matches “are not there to be thrown on the television”.
“The NFL is not used to celebrities coming to games,” Jason added. “Basketball has figured it out… [celebrities are] on the sidelines, they show them once or twice and then they go back to the game. The NFL is like, ‘Look at all these A-list celebrities at the game! Show them! Show them! Dude, show them once and get a little clip, but you can’t go overboard with it.
In response to the podcast, the NFL released a statement via People magazine defending its extensive coverage of Swift. “We frequently change our bios and profile images based on what’s happening in and around our games and culturally,” the statement read. “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news was a pop culture moment that we leaned into in real time because of the intersection of sports and entertainment, and we saw an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.” The NFL then doubled down, saying that while Swift has punctuated the coverage, “the vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and a variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more.”
As Variety noted during the Chiefs-Jets game, much of the early coverage featured Swift’s presence, including announcers welcoming Swifties to the game. “The Voice host Carson Daly also presented a video package designed to introduce Swift fans to the NFL game and give a rundown on Kelce. It included plenty of puns based on her song titles and was set to “Welcome to New York”. After the Chiefs scored their first touchdown, the camera quickly cut to Swift hugging those around her.
