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Taylor Swift's impact on the NFL has been massive. Ever since she was first seen at Arrowhead early in the 2023 season and later revealed to be dating Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, the league has seen a major uptick in popularity, especially among the female demographic.
And one person who is grateful for this phenomenon is Kelly Stafford, the wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Speaking on her podcast The Morning After on Tuesday, she said (starts at 18:09):
"Don't we love Taylor Swift, because she's found so many female fans. Now I'm having to tell all my female friends what the hell's going on in the game that before they didn't care. Which - thank you so much. It's very good."
Patrick Mahomes discusses Taylor Swift's impact on the NFL
The Staffords are not the only ones liking Taylor Swift's influence on the NFL. Patrick Mahomes is also a fan of it, and he expounded on her support in a recent interview with NBC Chris Simms:
"She's really interested in football and she asks a lot of great questions. She started drawing up plays; we might have to put one in."
He discussed how she has inspired more of the female demographic to start watching football:
"I think it's been cool to see the girls and the women that have really embraced watching football. I know being a girl dad, how cool it is for me to see these little girls - these daughters - and how much they're loving to spend time with their dad, watching football."
Mahomes concluded by reiterating his perception of her:
"And then meeting Taylor, realizing how genuine and cool she is. I think that's been special to me because she's, like you said, the most famous person in the world, she could not be."
Another personality who loves the NFL's Taylor Swift phenomenon is Omar Roja, social content host at ESPN. During the network's media day last week, he said Swift's presence "definitely" boosted its TikTok viewership count:
"Being in the weeds of it, I think in the beginning there was definitely a big Taylor Swift bump, especially I think the Chicago Bears-Chiefs game where she first showed up... We were reaching fans that maybe [we] wouldn't have before."
Flora Kelly, the vice president of Brand Strategy and Content Research at ESPN, was also asked about the subject. In response, she said Swift's popularity postively affected ESPN's linear businesses and that she had never seen something like the pop star's domination of NFL-related storylines.
