Taylor and Travis: By the Numbers
She's got that red lip classic thing that he likes, plus a Midas touch.
Taylor Swift has a known type, and it is not Travis Kelce. She usually prefers a London Boy, an actor or musician with a British accent and barista energy. Which makes her attraction to Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, an unusual departure in her heavily scrutinized dating life. While she and her publicity-shy ex, Joe Alwyn, kept their six-year relationship out of the spotlight, Taylor, the most famous pop star in the world, showed up to two Chiefs games, basking in her new role: The most famous cheerleader in the world.
I read a number last night that made my eyes pop. According to CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter, the recent Chiefs-Jets battle — to which Taylor brought Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds — “averaged a staggering 27 million viewers, making it the most-watched Sunday show since the Super Bowl in February. The broadcast, which saw a surge of more than 2 million female viewers, unquestionably owes its record numbers to Swift, whose attendance yet again generated a frenzy of buzz that effectively overshadowed the game itself.”
Here are more epic digits:
After Taylor witnessed Kelce’s victory over the Bears on September 24, sales of his No. 87 jersey “seemingly skyrocketed,” surging 400 percent, The Associated Press reported. (Meanwhile, Taylor posed for a photo alongside a chicken tender and “seemingly ranch.”)
Spotify cited a spike of more than 1,300 percent in searches for “Travis Kelce” and the “New Heights” podcast he shares with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
$5 billion: The amount consumers spent to attend Taylor’s blockbuster Eras Tour, which resumes international concerts in November.
$5 million: The amount Kelce is said to collect each year in endorsements with Nike, McDonald’s, and other brands. All told, a Taylor endorsement is priceless.
273 million: Her Instagram follower count.
3.8 million: His comparative IG fandom. The first Taylor cameo at a Chiefs game bumped his following from 2.8 million to 3.5 million in a matter of days. “That's more than Kelce gained after winning both of his Super Bowls COMBINED,” bknownagency posted, citing CrowdTangle data.
You don’t have to be a math whiz to compute that this rumored courtship — there for all to see! — might pay off exceedingly well for Kelce, whose association with Taylor stands to grow his public profile and earning power well beyond the NFL arena. Look, I wrote a sports book (now a national bestseller!), but football: Its popularity eludes me. It is the Opera of athletics. It is violent. Often, it takes place in freezing conditions. Spectators in northern cities huddle on bleachers, braving frostbite, layering puffer coats, loving every second. I cannot. I tune in to watch one big football-adjacent televised spectacle, and that’s the Super Bowl Halftime Show. (USHER 2024!!!)
And yet, here I am, kinda sorta rooting for Taylor’s new romance. I’m not about to Taylor-gate, or start sporting red and gold. But I like that Kelce has his own good thing going. He’s confident. He’s fun. And when they eventually break up (she’s midnight rain), he’ll likely escape the wrath that Swifties felt toward the odious Matty Healy. In a joke that wasn’t a joke, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick called Taylor the “biggest” catch of Kelce’s career. But the positive PR goes both ways. I have no doubt that Taylor’s affection for Kelce is genuine. I also believe that the juggernaut artist (and her tireless publicist Tree Paine) views Kelce as a relatively wholesome, bro-ish antidote to Healy. The Jock Next Door whom you can bring home to Mom. Kelce will make you forget that Healy existed. Onward!
Some other things: At 9 p.m. Eastern tonight, the Authors For Voices of Color’s auction to support We Need Diverse Books will close — this year’s lineup is fantastic, and as it is officially Ephron Season, I’m donating an annotated copy of I’ll Have What She’s Having and personalized movie recommendations. Bid here! And if you’re in or around the Madison, Wisconsin area on Friday, October 20, I’ll be talking No Crying in Baseball at the Wisconsin Book Festival. Come say hello! Thank your, EC.