NEW YORK — Taylor Swift’s visit to watch Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs play football on Sunday not only sparked widespread discussion on the internet but also led to a significant increase in jersey sales for the All-Pro tight end.
According to Fanatics, a sportswear and fan merchandise company, Kelce was one of the top 5 selling NFL players on Sunday. The company reported that there was a nearly 400% surge in sales for Kelce’s jerseys across the Fanatics network of sites, including NFLShop.com.
The surge in sales coincided with Swift being seen in Kansas City, watching the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears from one of the stadium’s glass-enclosed suites alongside Kelce’s mother, Donna.
Kelce did not speak to the media after the game, but he was spotted leaving the stadium with Swift by his side.
After the game, there was a lot of buzz in the Kansas City locker room about the news, including from coach Andy Reid, who jokingly said, “I set them up.”
Rumors about a possible romantic connection between the popstar and the NFL player have been circulating in recent months. This was fueled by a podcast episode where Kelce expressed his disappointment about not meeting Swift during her visit to Kansas City and his subsequent invitation for her to watch him play.
Swift is currently on a break from her Eras Tour, which will resume on November 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In addition to the increase in jersey sales, the NFL also embraced the attention generated by Swift’s visit. As of Tuesday, the NFL’s bio on X (formerly known as Twitter) read “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” alongside a photo of Swift and Donna Kelce at Sunday’s game.
