Can a spotlight on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce help the NFL draw more Gen Z and female fans?

Eager as the National Football League has been to cater to the contemporary public fixation with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it’s not at all taking any credit for developing the oversized storyline that has emerged round the pop superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight finish.

“Not orchestrated by the NFL,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy confident The Associated Press with a giggle all over a chat on the telephone about what’s changing into referred to as “ Tay Tay and Trav,” a matter few gave the look to be ready to get sufficient of to start with, whether or not soccer diehards or Swifties, whether or not by the use of TV or TikTok.

The protagonists have remained mum about their precise standing since Swift began attending Kelce’s games 1½ weeks in the past. The game offering the backdrop, and its TV companions, have no longer been shy about seeking to capitalize on the “situationship” and achieve new enthusiasts, specifically participants of Gen Z and more ladies — even supposing advertising mavens are skeptical there shall be a lot of a bump in the long term.

“There is not going to be a ‘Pre-Taylor Swift Era’ and a ‘Post-Taylor Swift Era’ for the NFL. … It’s a momentary fascination,” mentioned Rebecca Brooks, founder and CEO of Alter Agents, a consulting company.

“I believe in love and I wish Taylor luck. But … it’s very unlikely people would go to a game to see Taylor and be like, ‘Oh, I had no idea this is what football was about! My gosh! I love it now!'” Brooks said. “Or let’s say they get married: Taylor is going to show up at games and it’s going to become routine.”

THE NFL WANTS IN

Still, naturally, the league wants in on the fun, with a team of folks monitoring social media to see where it could be part of the phenomenon as various memes and trends took off after Swift watched a game in Kansas City alongside Kelce’s mom on Sept. 24.

“It was a perfect storm of pop culture and sports colliding in a really positive way, with two incredibly passionate fan bases merging together and interacting in ways that they hadn’t before. So for us, it’s fantastic,” said Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s senior vice president of social, influencer and content marketing.

“Hopefully those — especially the young women — that have now gained an interest in not only Travis Kelce, but the NFL more broadly, can stay with us throughout the year and years to come,” Trombetta said.

Not that the NFL thinks there’s a ton of room for improvement: It says 47% of its fans are women, and it’s the No. 1 sport among people ages 8 to 24.

The league has worked for several years to court women, including by promoting flag football or touting female hires for teams’ coaching staffs, as negative developments turned people off: domestic violence cases involving players; misogyny and sexual harassment during former Washington Commanders proprietor Dan Snyder’s tenure; an investigation introduced in May through New York and California prosecutors into accusations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination at NFL company workplaces.

“Those are each individual situations,” Trombetta said. “We’ve got amazing women throughout the league … and at the end of the day, we’re proud of where we’re going as a league and the values that we try to uphold each and every day.”

Yet it no doubt can’t harm to have Swift, an icon of female empowerment, bringing folks to the celebration.

A 12 months in the past, she changed into the first artist with songs in each of the top 10 spots on the Billboard 100. Overwhelming demand to see her current tour — which resumes in two weeks — ended in a Ticketmaster debacle. Her Instagram following of more than 270 million is just about 10 instances the NFL’s 28.4 million; Kelce’s has approached 4 million in recent years, because of a spice up from the contemporary exposure.

This celebrity-athlete pairing is more powerful than many that preceded it. Attribute that to Swift’s broad appeal, not just in the U.S. but globally, and to Kelce’s status as the NFL’s best player at his position and the second-best player, behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes, on the reigning Super Bowl champions. Add the current state of non-stop coverage via cell phones, and the hype surely surpasses Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe (go ahead and Google them, kids), David Beckham and Posh Spice, the now-divorced Tom Brady and Giselle Bunchen, and so on.

FINDING THE RIGHT ‘STORY OF THE WEEK’

This time, there also was a vacuum of viewing choices because of Hollywood strikes.

“There’s always a ‘story of the week’ now, and no matter what it is, you have to figure out how to fit into it. It was ‘Barbie’ for a while. It was Beyoncé over the summer,” mentioned advertising guru Joe Favorito, who counts NFL Media amongst his previous purchasers.

“If you are in professional sports, that’s what you want,” he said. “You want to be not just for the core fans. You want to be for everyone, anywhere, who has to talk about this the next day, because they don’t want to feel like they’re missing out.”

One issue with courting the Gen Z cohort (11 to 26), Brooks said, is that it’s a group more openly concerned with authenticity than earlier generations. So the NFL can be “seen as self-serving,” Brooks mentioned, and “chance taking a look more or less pathetic and cringy.”

Indeed, the oversaturation already is beginning to trouble some.

The NFL’s Instagram feed, as an example, in brief positioned Swift lyrics in its bio and famous the Chiefs are 2-0 along with her on hand. Even Kelce and his brother, Philadelphia Eagles middle Jason, famous how again and again NBC cameras minimize to Swift at Sunday evening’s recreation between Kansas City and the New York Jets — from time to time celebrating, from time to time interacting with well-known pals and from time to time, neatly, simply status there.

“Is the NFL overdoing it?” Jason requested Travis on an episode in their podcast launched Wednesday. “What is your honest opinion? Take away your feelings for Taylor.”

That drew a giggle from Travis, who mentioned it may be amusing for audience when celebrities are proven at video games however agreed along with his brother’s premise, pronouncing: “They’re overdoing it a little bit, especially my situation.”

On the different hand, as former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson put it: “You ride the horse as long as it’s available. We show (Dallas Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones more than we probably need to during TV broadcasts, so why not show Taylor Swift?”

Pilson famous that NFL TV contracts already price billions aren’t going to be renegotiated any time quickly, however an uptick in scores may well be offered to advertisers to hunt upper costs for ads.

“I’ve been asked the question more than once: `What happens when and if they break up?’” the NFL’s Trombetta mentioned. “I have no idea. But I hope they can stay together as long as possible.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl