The NFL is branding themselves for Taylor Swift Fans
There is no doubt 2023 was the year of Taylor Swift. From the Eras Tour to a Time Magazine cover, her name was everywhere. But she made her mark in the least expected area of all…..the NFL. Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce brought their high profile relationship to light last fall. Anyone involved has benefited of being associated with Swift.
For the NFL, this has brought upon numbers they have never seen before in viewership. For all women in the age ranges of 12 to 17, there was a 53% spike in spectators and between 18 to 24 a rise of 24%. While a 24% increase for 35 and older women. These numbers are compared to an average Sunday Night Game during the season.
The league has put themselves in a key position if they want to keep such a major audience interested. Therefore, they act as any company would do and use her face and likeness to their advantage. Through any game she attends, cameras are likely pointed in her direction to profit off of any and all reactions. For the individuals not watching, social media is buzzing on “What is she wearing? Who is she sitting with?” and the NFL feeds into it.
To the NFL defense, it is free marketing on their behalf. Swift has a combined 533.4 million followers on all her social media platforms. Anytime they tag or mention her name, the “Swifties” come to support their idol. This has made the NFL over $122 million dollars since her first game appearance in September. It may be easy for the NFL to keep doing this but are fans going to get sick of it?
Not everyone is happy about this so-called new collaboration. As some fans just want to watch the game. They do not want to have a singer with no “real ties” to make an appearance on their screen 15 times a game. Spectators feel like the NFL is overdoing it and using her image every chance they get, which is not fair to the supporters who just want to see the Chief’s matchup.
Haters are the least of problems for Swift as she stated in her time magazine interview,, “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.” But surprisingly enough there are many dads in support of her presence.
Swift has generated a brand new audience for football so does the NFL need to worry, or do they (You) Need to Calm Down? The answer isn’t really that simple as the media will always have The Great War about whether she deserves the spotlight. But it can truly be said the NFL does not have Bad Blood with Swift providing her presents will make them millions, while also giving them a Delicate new audience.
Julia Anderson is a sophomore at Temple University, majoring in public relations with a minor in sports management. She has been involved with PRSSA since her freshman year and is currently director of fundraising for her Chapter. Outside of PRSSA, she works for The Temple News running their social media accounts and a peer mentor for Klein College of Media Communication. Julia’s dream profession is to work in sports public relations with an ultimate goal of working for a sports network or team. You can connect with her on Linkedin.
