There’s one story that’s dominated the NFL this season, and it has little to do with football. The Super Bowl return of MVP Patrick Mahomes for the fourth time in five seasons pales compared to Taylor Swift’s five-month romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — and the multitude of fans, ratings gains and revenue that have flowed from it.
Swift is bringing new viewers and big dollars to a television institution, the NFL, whose valuation has been growing and didn’t need a boost in advertising or viewership. The Swift bump nevertheless scored a 20% surge in sponsorships and a upward spike of young women tuning in to NFL games — an over 50% rise among 12-17-year-old girls at the start of this season.