This year has already been a big one for Kansas City Chief Travis Kelce. In February the tight end won his second Super Bowl ring, and a month later he was hosting Saturday Night Live. But never underestimate the power of the Swifties. The relationship rumors surrounding Kelce and Taylor Swift — and her appearance with his mom at their latest game at Arrowhead Stadium — has raised the NFL player’s stock even more. According to reports, his jerseys have skyrocketed in popularity, and Kelce’s agent probably has the pop star to thank for that.
Taylor Swift was the talk of the NFL world on Sunday, when she attended the Kansas City Chiefs game, seemingly to see rumored new beau Travis Kelce. The Midnights artist cheered wildly from a box, sitting next to Travis’ mom Donna Kelce and dropping F-bombs as she cheered on the Chiefs. Apparently this had Swifties making a mad dash for the No. 87 merch, as TMZ Sports reports that Kelce gear was flying off the shelves. According to Fanatics:
Yesterday, Travis Kelce was one of the top 5 selling NFL players and saw a nearly 400% spike in sales throughout the Fanatics network of sites, including NFLShop.com.
There’s obviously no way to prove that the 400% increase in Travis Kelce jersey popularity was solely due to Taylor Swift fans, but with the spike coming in the 24 hours after the singer’s appearance in Kansas City, there’s no way it’s a coincidence. That means Kelce could see an unintended benefit from the media frenzy, since NFL players usually earn a percentage of their jersey sales.
Taylor Swift knows a thing or two about big paydays, as she herself is due for one when Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour hits theaters on October 13. The tour itself apparently is making enough money that she’s tipping drivers in $5 million bonuses, and her concert film is projected to rake in $96 million to $145 million on opening weekend alone.
It certainly seems like an exciting time for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, and people cannot get enough of this potential couple. Rumors started to circulate earlier in September that the two were “quietly hanging out” and had seen each other in New York City recently. This came not long after Kelce recalled his Eras Tour experience on the New Heights podcast, telling his brother Jason Kelce that he’d tried and failed to slip the “Anti-Hero” singer a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it.
Jason Kelce has continued to field questions about his brother’s love life in the weeks since, getting asked about Taylor Swift following his own NFL game recently. It was reported by some outlets that he later confirmed the relationship on a sports radio show; however, Jason Kelce’s quotes appear to have been taken out of context.
It seems like Taylor Swift’s presence at Arrowhead Stadium was all the confirmation many Swifties needed to buy into the rumors — literally — but we’ll all still be keeping an eye on her and Travis Kelce’s every movie.
