The revelation that Taylor Swift has performed in 20 NFL stadiums this season surpasses the visits any NFL player will make throughout the entire season. Now, the statistics are suggesting that her romance with one player has put him “On the map.”
Kelce’s Football Stardom
Travis Kelce, a highly acclaimed four-time first-team All-Pro tight end, stands as one of the eminent figures in his position, but he’s started making the headlines for a very different reason.
Iconic Presence of Patrick Mahomes
Aside from the quarterback maestro Patrick Mahomes, Kelce is a prominent face in the Kansas City Chiefs dynasty, which has secured three Super Bowl appearances and emerged victorious in two of them over the past four seasons.
Swift’s Impact on Kelce
Adding to his already illustrious NFL career, Kelce’s stardom received an unexpected boost due to rumors linking him romantically with the pop sensation Taylor Swift.
TikTok Trend and Its Reach
The TikTok trend suggesting that Swift ‘put Kelce on the map’ resonated with sports fans and even caught the attention of fellow pro athlete Julius Randle from the NBA.
Expert Insights From Brendan Kaminsky
Brendan Kaminsky, the founder of Bknown, a sports social media analytics agency, provided valuable insights into the impact of Swift’s association on Kelce’s social media presence.
Magnitude of the Social Media Surge
Kelce experienced an astonishing surge of over 860,000 followers within a week after Swift’s presence supporting him at Chiefs games.
Kelce’s Instagram Follower Surge
This surge propelled Kelce towards the remarkable milestone of surpassing four million total Instagram followers.
Brotherly Success
Remarkably, the surge in followers was not limited to Travis Kelce alone; even his brother, Jason Kelce, a player for the Philadelphia Eagles, gained significant Instagram followers owing to Swift’s influence.
Comparison With Fellow Players
In stark contrast, during the same timeframe, no other NFL player gained over 37,000 new Instagram followers, a sign that points to Swift for Kelce’s surge.
Kelce Dominates the NFL’s Top 100
By combining the Instagram growth of the NFL’s top 100 list, it became evident that Kelce’s rise surpassed all other players on this prestigious list.
Even Kaminsky admitted he “Blew them away.”
Impact on Multiple Social Media Platforms
The surge in followers was not confined to Instagram; substantial gains were also observed on X, finally reaching over 1 million followers thanks to Swift’s help.
Comparing Kelce’s Growth With Celebrities
Kelce’s growth rate even outpaced that of Taylor Swift herself.
The global mega-celebrity boasts over 270 million followers on her Instagram.
Forget the Football!
Kaminsky admitted that the spike had nothing to do with Kelce’s talents on the field, “The fact that this isn’t about something that Travis Kelce has done at all on the football field, it isn’t about any accomplishments, it’s simply for being him and who he’s dating.”
Analyzing the ‘Perfect Storm’
Kaminsky termed this phenomenon as a “perfect storm,” a rare confluence of sports and pop-culture audiences fueled by the immense popularity of Kelce and Swift.
What’s Next for Taylor and Travis?
Kaminsky pointed out that Swift doesn’t follow anyone on social media, “She doesn’t follow one person on Instagram,” he said, “So let’s say she decided to follow Travis Kelce.”
The Swift Influence Is Massive
The natural step in any relationship is to follow each other on Instagram, right?
Kaminsky argued this would cause an even bigger spike “So I think if she decides to follow Travis Kelce, I think that’s going to lead to a lot of discovery for him and another big spike,” he said.
The post Taylor Swift Outpaces NFL Players in Stadium Visits This Season, Spotlight on Travis Kelce first appeared on The Public Slate.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Brian Friedman. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.