Three years after Travis Kelce was drafted into the National Football League, the tight finish courted 50 contestants, one from every state, for a “Bachelor”-esque relationship present on E! Entertainment that drew little discover.
His profile has risen considerably since “Catching Kelce” aired in 2016. He has received two Super Bowls with Kansas City — catching a landing in every — and earned eight Pro Bowl picks whereas dabbling as a media character, internet hosting a “Saturday Night Live” episode and helming a common soccer podcast.
But in phrases of maximizing his celeb, nothing compares to Kelce’s brush with the aura of Taylor Swift, a 12-time Grammy winner whose Eras Tour this 12 months has shattered live performance information and even registered seismic exercise.
Kelce and Swift, each 33, have remained quiet about whether or not they’re buddies or a couple, or simply two celebrities attempting to leverage one another’s fame. But followers frequently dissect Swift’s relationship life and failed relationships, which she has written about in her personal songs.
After weeks of hypothesis about a connection between Kelce and Swift, who broke up with the actor Joe Alwyn this 12 months, she attended Kelce’s sport at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday, watching from a luxurious suite along with his mom because the Chiefs trounced the Chicago Bears. Fox cameras panned to Swift’s response almost each time Kelce touched the ball. The singer’s devoted swarm of followers additionally tuned in, with a number of posting on social media that they had been watching soccer for the primary time.
Swift, sporting a red-and-white outfit that matched Kansas City’s colours, was then seen leaving the stadium with Kelce.
Despite Kelce’s relative fame in the sports activities world, changing into a part of the frenzied dialog round Swift’s each transfer is one other ballgame. Kelce now has 3.2 million followers on Instagram. Swift has 273 million.
“This puts him on a completely different plane from where he was as a celebrity,” stated Daniel Durbin, a professor of communication on the University of Southern California. “This is celebrity on steroids, and it has a powerful impact.”
As skilled athletes close to retirement in their 30s and early 40s, many start to plot their subsequent profession strikes. Some turn into broadcasters, whereas others flip to Hollywood. LeBron James, the star basketball participant, has began his personal tequila model and stated he desires to personal a workforce.
That Kelce and Swift had been in the identical stadium this weekend introduced collectively two fandoms that don’t typically overlap. A spokesman for Fanatics, the N.F.L.’s official retailer, stated that gross sales of Kelce’s jersey had spiked by 400 p.c as of Monday.
Coaches and gamers from throughout the N.F.L. additionally took discover.
Bill Belichick, the Patriots coach identified for gruff solutions to reporters’ questions, stated on a radio present that “Travis Kelce’s had a lot of big catches in his career — this would be the biggest.” The star Cowboys defender Micah Parsons posted on X, previously often called Twitter, that one girl “can change your life!!!”
Celebrity relationships in the N.F.L. will not be new, however they’re usually reserved for star quarterbacks who contact the ball each play. Russell Wilson married the singer Ciara in 2016; Tom Brady, who received seven Super Bowls, spent 16 years with the mannequin Gisele Bündchen earlier than they divorced final 12 months.
It is rarer, however not not possible, for a tight finish to drive the nationwide dialog. But Kelce, propelled by his trendy outfits, trimmed beard and haircut and his charismatic character, has emerged as one of many N.F.L.’s most marketable stars. Before Swift, his fame had crescendoed due to a candid podcast he hosts along with his brother, Jason, the middle for the Philadelphia Eagles. (Their relationship was a common subject earlier than final season’s Super Bowl, in which the Chiefs narrowly defeated the Eagles.)
On their weekly podcast, “New Heights,” the Kelces talk about their lives as skilled athletes and converse with high-profile visitors like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell. It was additionally the place the Kelce-Swift story line started.
In July, Travis Kelce stated on his podcast that he had needed to present Swift a friendship bracelet throughout her live performance tour cease in Kansas City, however that she had declined to fulfill him in order to avoid wasting her voice. Last week, amid rumors that the celebrities had been relationship, Kelce confirmed in an ESPN interview solely that he had invited Swift to a sport.
“I told her that, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead, and see which one’s a little more lit,’” Kelce stated.
Whatever occurs with Kelce and Swift, the eye could possibly be benefiting them each.
Her live performance film, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” releases subsequent month, and he’s already pursuing a profession outdoors sports activities. He informed The Los Angeles Times this summer time that he thought of Peyton Manning, the Hall of Fame quarterback and founding father of the content material firm Omaha Productions, a mentor, and he lately signed with the highly effective media conglomerate Creative Artists Agency.
Discussion about this post