Taylor Swift’s presence at Super Bowl 2024 causes anger but helps the NFL earn hundreds of millions of dollars. Her relationship with Travis Kelce also boosted sales.
After the moment the Kansas City Chiefs team defeated the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, USA), newspapers and social networks were filled with images of Taylor Swift hugging and kissing her boyfriend Travis Kelce. Very quickly, keywords related to them reached the top trends on X.
The fact that the media focuses too much on Swift at the Super Bowl – the most awaited sporting event of the year – is frustrating, but it is worth discussing. Because, not only did she come to cheer her boyfriend, her presence in the stands also indirectly helped the NFL solve a lucrative economic problem.
Taylor Swift helps the NFL earn hundreds of millions of dollars
According to Vanity Fair, the Super Bowl LVIII final attracted more than 123.4 million live viewers, becoming the most watched live program in American history since Neil Armstrong set foot on the ground. landed on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
This record number of views is more or less thanks to Taylor Swift being in the stands. Although official figures have not been released, The Things estimates that singer Blank Space helped the NFL season earn hundreds of millions of dollars by the end of the super dramatic match on February 12.
Before the Super Bowl, Front Office Sports released statistics showing that the NFL “pocketed” 331.5 million USD thanks to Swift’s appearances at tournaments, as well as her passionate love affair with Travis Kelce. This profit comes from social media effects, featured news, TV, radio, digital and print.
Many people are not passionate about rugby but are willing to spend large amounts of money to buy Super Bowl tickets just to admire Swift. Adam Budelli – spokesman for ticket sales company StubHub – explained on Reuters : “A week before the tournament, demand for tickets increased rapidly despite very high prices. An average ticket costs 8,600 USD , higher than average. with the Super Bowl two years ago”.
According to CBS News , the cheapest ticket to this year’s game is 6,500 (purchased on Ticketmaster), 2,000 USD (purchased from the NFL), 45,000 USD (most expensive ticket from an agent) and 8,600 USD is purchased from StubHub now. before G. Among the more than 65,000 people appearing at Allegiant Stadium, many members belonged to Swifties – Swift’s fan community.
Numerator, a consumer research company, concluded 20% of people watched Super Bowl 2024 because of Kelce’s relationship with Swift. And Bob Bakish – CEO of Paramount – said on CNBC that Swift is a “special magnet” that the NFL will hardly miss.
The romance between Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs star also boosted sales for the NFL. In September 2023, New York Post reported that the number of products printed with Kelce’s image such as T-shirts, keychains, souvenirs… had a 400% increase in consumption. The NFL earned an additional $30 million thanks to fans competing to buy Kelce’s No. 87 jersey.
“If the Chiefs win, there is more than $150 million generated thanks to Swift’s presence, and obviously, Kelce and the entire Kansas City Chiefs team also increase their influence not only in the US but around the world.” “, a television network executive analyzed in The US Sun.
Not only did the NFL not spend money on Swift’s salary, the NFL earned a lot of advertising money when the female singer came to support her boyfriend Kelce. 53 seconds of Swift appearing on live broadcast is equivalent to 12.4 million USD . That number comes from brands having to pay $7 million for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial, according to Business Insider.
Taylor’s controversial 53 seconds
In fact, not everyone wants to see Taylor Swift smiling brightly, expressing tension or howling continuously from the VIP room. Football-loving audiences complained that the camera panned to the billionaire singer too much, making the Super Bowl not really a true match.
“CBS showed Taylor Swift 12 times for a total of 53 seconds. I didn’t know what I was watching anymore”, “I was extremely uncomfortable while watching what was going on when the camera turned back to the singer with the following expressions. feeling ridiculous”, “The appeal of the Super Bowl is somewhat reduced because of Taylor”… are a series of comments from netizens.
Anti-alcohol campaigner James Swanwick also criticized Swift for being “stupid and wrong” for drinking on national television. He emphasized that the world’s top stars are propagating harmful messages.
Harsh opinions aimed at the owner of the hit Bad Blood like Swanwick’s faced strong reactions from the Swifties community. According to Yahoo , a group of Swift fanatics are ready to confront anyone who comments negatively on their idol.
Amidst the endless controversy, of course, the NFL seems comfortable because Swift brings them huge profits.
In an interview with CBS Mornings , Roger Goodell – NFL commissioner – said: “Somehow, Taylor fans connect with NFL fans, to see that they now have a deep connection. It’s great that the tournaments The soccer match receives attention from music lovers and vice versa. Therefore, we welcome Taylor.”
Rob Gronkowski, a former member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots, evaluated Swift’s presence as positive. “Taylor and Travis are a perfect match for each other and the business of the NFL,” Gronkowski shared.
Speaking to Variety , former midfielder Drew Bledsoe expressed his admiration for the way Swift inspired people to pay attention to rugby. He stated his opinion: “Thanks to Taylor, many people who have never watched football are drawn into the matches. Young girls who have little interest in sports suddenly sit down with their father and younger brother to watch the Super Bowl. That amazing”.
Of thousands of people surveyed by Adtaxi in November 2023, 45% of people admitted Swift influenced their interest in rugby. As for Super Bowl 2024, this is the season with the largest number of female viewers since 2000.
