Jae Jepsen

Seniors Celia Brown and Jae Jepsen watching Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Chicago Bears’ Soldiers Field.

On Sunday, Sept. 24, international sensation Taylor Swift was spotted at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game in the personal suite of star tight end Travis Kelce. This sudden appearance fueled a social media frenzy over Swift’s new potential relationship.

Swift is no stranger to the spotlight. With over 200 million albums sold and 12 Grammy awards, Swift has dominated the music industry for the better part of the decade.  Her trademark Eras Tour, held at numerous NFL stadiums, amassed an estimated $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone. 

Travis Kelce has also had his share of success. The two-time SuperBowl champ is one of the NFL’s best tight ends, leading the league with 1338 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022. 

Swift’s spotting at Kansas City’s game took social media by storm. Popular Instagram sports pages such as SportsCenter, ESPN and even the NFL’s official page heavily posted about the event through NFL Sunday and the days following.

The breaking news sparked junior Rithik Vijaykumar’s curiosity, but his interest was short-lived. “I felt like it was fun at the start. Kelce is a huge star and it’s always interesting to see what stars are up to off the field, but it started becoming repetitive and annoying. I follow sports pages like ESPN to see stat lines or highlights, not Taylor Swift cheering in the crowd. I have nothing against Taylor, I’m just not as interested,” Vijaykumar shared.

Senior Matt Pischke shared a similar mindset. “As an avid football fan who loves the game: I do not care that they’re dating. It simply does not matter,” he expressed.

Additionally, the NFL is using Swift’s fame to create content to help boost viewership. On Instagram, the official NFL page has posted numerous posts about Swift-everything from clips of her cheering in Kelce’s private suite to walking out with him after the game.

Swift’s recent association with the NFL has drawn great attention to the league. Travis Kelce jerseys saw ‘a nearly 400 percent spike’ in sales. The Chiefs-Bears game also gained 24.3 million viewers. Ticket prices to Kansas City’s next game against the New York Jets rose as much as 40 percent after rumors surfaced of Swift’s plans to attend. 

With American sports culture at an all time high, social media is becoming an increasingly important factor in sports marketing. American sports leagues are quickly realizing the benefits of using social media to boost their revenues.

In the MLS, the recent acquisition of Lionel Messi by Inter Miami has dramatically increased viewership and revenue. American soccer viewership skyrocketed during Fox Sports’s coverage of the US Men’s National team’s historic ‘Round of 16’ appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Many say that the positive feedback the USMNT received on social media platforms helped convince stars like Messi’s that the US soccer market has potential.

In college football, coach Deion Sanders has revolutionized Colorado’s football program. Bringing in 5-star recruits and superstar players from across the nation, Sanders led the Buffaloes to wins against national runner-up TCU, state rivals CSU, and Big-10 powerhouse Nebraska. Colorado’s newfound success was heavily promoted by Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok sports pages and gained millions of views.

“Before the Taylor Swift news, posts about Colorado football swarmed my feed. All I saw were posts showing highlights, plays, and celebrations. You could tell the posts were recycled over and over again,” Vijaykumar added.

Inter Miami’s acquisition of Messi, Coach Sanders’ revamp of Colorado football and the Swift-Kelce relationship are all recent examples of social media’s grasp on American sports consumerism. Social media apps such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are very widely accessible, presenting perfect marketing opportunities for teams looking to make a profit. It’s much easier for fans to watch a 30 second highlight as they’re scrolling through their feed than watch a complete 3 hour football game. This ease of access and the abundance of fresh content with each swipe is what drives social media to the forefront of sports content consumption.

Superstar relationships, like the one between Kelce and Swift, are just the beginning of social media’s growing effect on the American market.