At least one half of America's most talked-about power couple is heading to the Super Bowl, as Travis Kelce will play for a third Super Bowl title when the Chiefs face the 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. Whether Taylor Swift will be in attendance to cheer on her beau remains to be seen, but her impact on Kelce's career off the field has been undeniable, and Swift's influence might even be seen in his on-field performance. Below, we'll delve into the T-Swift effect when it comes to Kelce's brand and production while also looking at what the future may hold for Kelce and the Chiefs.
As soon as Swift entered the picture, it immediately led to more Kelce jerseys in closets and more eyeballs on Chiefs games. Per ESPN, Kelce's jersey sales spiked by more than 400 percent the day Swift first went to Arrowhead Stadium to support him, Sept. 24 against the Bears. Despite being a blowout 41-10 Chiefs win, the game drew 24.3 million viewers, which was the highest total of any Week 3 NFL game. Swift's presence enticed a new demographic, as females age 12-17 watched the game at a rate 8 percent higher than the previous year, even as overall viewership was down 8 percent compared to the same window last season. Additionally, Bears-Chiefs had the highest female audience of the week across all age brackets. The additional viewership brought upon by Swift's presence wasn't limited to just that game, either, as she can claim at least partial credit for Kansas City's 17-10 win over the Ravens being the most-watched AFC Championship Game ever, with 55.5 million viewers.
Not only has Kelce's brand grown tremendously due to the influx of Swifties following him and his team, but Swift's presence in the stands has helped him get his head in the game when it comes to producing on the field. Including the playoffs, Kelce has now played 18 games this season, and Swift has been in attendance for 12. In six Swiftless games, Kelce has averaged 6.0 catches, 50.0 receiving yards and 0.5 touchdowns. In the 12 games Taylor attended, Travis has averaged 6.7 receptions for 72.4 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. Whether it's just statistical noise or the result of a little extra motivation, Kelce has been noticeably more productive with Swift in the house, especially in terms of yardage. His touchdown rate does drop ever so slightly, but hopefully he's scoring more off the field on those days to cover the minor difference.
Given those splits, Kelce will be thinking Come Back…Be Here (Travis' Version) as Swift performs the final leg of her Eras Tour in Japan the day before the Super Bowl. Swift's concert is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Feb. 10 in Tokyo, which is 1 a.m. Saturday in Las Vegas. Since the game isn't until 3:30 p.m. Vegas time Sunday and it takes about 12 hours to fly from Tokyo to Vegas, Swift can physically make it for the Super Bowl with time to spare, but it would be a grueling addition to her schedule, as Swift will be coming off a fourth consecutive day of performing in Japan and has another concert scheduled in Australia the following Friday. Whether Swift is in attendance for Super Bowl LVIII may both impact Kelce's performance and offer a clue as to just how much staying power this relationship will have.
What the future holds for the Kelce-Swift relationship is tough to predict or quantify, but No. 87's football future is a lot easier to break down with numbers. Kelce had plenty of star power even before Swift entered the picture. He came 16 yards short of an eighth consecutive 1,000-yard regular season in 2023, and Kelce's among the NFL's all-time best playoff performers. With plenty of Swifties tuned in for the AFC Championship Game, Kelce delivered 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens. That performance gave Kelce 156 career playoff receptions, surpassing Jerry Rice's previous record of 151. Kelce's 1,810 playoff receiving yards are second behind Rice's 2,245, and his 19 receiving TDs are three back of Rice's record. With two years left on his current contract with the Chiefs, Kelce should have an opportunity to surpass Rice's remaining playoff records and rewrite the NFL record books, just as Swift is rewriting the music record books.
Kelce has played six years with Mahomes as his quarterback. Super Bowl LVIII will be his 18th playoff game over that span (3.0 per season), and Kelce has 1,522 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns over the previous 17 playoff games with Mahomes (89.5 yards and just over 1.0 TD per game). If Kelce can maintain his level of production, he'll need five games, including the Super Bowl, to surpass Rice's postseason marks in receiving yards and TDs. Considering Mahomes is in his prime at age 28, the Chiefs had their best defense of the Mahomes era this year, starting RB Isiah Pacheco is in his second season, and top WR Rashee Rice is a rookie, Kansas City is poised to continue making noise in the playoffs, even if Kelce starts to drop off a bit in the regular season.
This playoff run has shown Kelce can still step it up in key games, and the 34-year-old tight end seems likely to at least play out his current contract. If wedding bells start ringing for Swift and Kelce, leaving over $28 million in salary over the next two years on the table wouldn't be so crazy for him considering her net worth is over $1 billion. That being said, Kelce doesn't seem to be in it for the money. Swift's own words from the song Blank Space may prove prescient when it comes to her, Kelce, and his football career: "You know I love the players, and you love the game."
