The NFL has received much more viewership than in previous years, an average of 7.1 million viewers per game this season to be more exact. This is undoubtedly due to the sudden appearance of Taylor Swift at many of the Kansas City Chiefs football games. It feels like everyone wants to be a football fan, more specifically, a Chiefs fan. 

Since Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ starting tight end, and her many appearances at the Chiefs’ games the franchise has generated an estimated $331.5 million in brand value, according to Front Office Sports. She began appearing at the Chiefs’ games before their relationship was publicly announced which only assisted in increasing viewership for the NFL. Of the Chiefs’ 19 games this year, Swift was present at 12 of them and it is assumed that she will attend Super Bowl 2024. 

So where did all these viewers come from? According to NBC, viewership among girls aged 12 to 17 was up by 53%. But it doesn’t stop there. There was a 24% increase in viewership among women aged 18 to 24 and a 35% rise in viewership from women aged 35 and older. Ultimately, this is good news for the NFL as they have reached a new peak in viewership. But is this good news for the sport? 

Laveasia Morales, a first-year early education psych-child life major, was conflicted on the matter. 

“I watch football to watch football, not to watch Taylor Swift,” Morales said. “But I’ve seen on TikTok, little girls bonding with their fathers over football because of Taylor Swift. So it positively affects viewers in that way.” 

Swift’s appearance at these many NFL games is not all negative. As much as many of us would like to argue that this whole situation is not good for the sport, you cannot take away the fact that this controversy is bringing new viewers to the sport. Some of them might become lifelong football fans even if they end up being Chiefs fans.

So if Taylor Swift can be shown so often, how come none of the other significant others are? Yes, Swift is a celebrity which can’t be said for every NFL player’s significant other but that doesn’t dismiss those who are. For example, Tom Brady’s ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen. One of the highest-paid models in the world and the 16th richest woman in the entertainment industry. Throughout Brady’s career, she was shown in the same manner that Swift is shown every Chiefs game maybe a handful of times. 

Zoe-Jane Roberts, a freshman studying nursing, said wives or significant others who are there to show support should be seen. 

“There are other wives here to support their husbands, why not show them, why not share more of them? Roberts said. “If you’re gonna do it for one, do it for all of them because it’s pretty one-sided.” 

This whole controversy has made so much commotion that both parties are benefiting from it. One can only ask themselves: Is it not a little suspicious that Swift’s sudden appearance that so happened to cause a massive revenue boost for the NFL would end with her appearance at the Super Bowl? 

I’ve heard many people say that this is “all thanks to Vegas” implying that the Chiefs only managed to make it this far because of the many rich folks responsible for major bets on NFL games paying off officials or teams. 

Others say that this is all scripted especially knowing the amount of publicity that Swift could and would bring to the NFL. Regardless of these theories, it should be noted that ever since Swift’s first surprise appearance at the Chiefs vs. Bears games ratings, ticket prices, and Chiefs jersey sales have gone up. Can’t help but wonder if something is going on behind the scenes.