The NFL defends itself over leaning into the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce “moment”

Unless you are living off the grid (or under a rock), you have likely heard about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce being a thing right now. We aren’t even sure what type of a “thing” they are, but we know that they are spending time together and that Swift has been attending a few of his games, both with Kelce’s mother and with some of her celebrity friends.

And the NFL is having fun with this pop culture moment. In fact, they are having as much fun with these two being an item as the Swifties of the world. Not only have they changed up their social media platforms with little Taylor Swift nods such as “the NFL’s Instagram bio read, “Chiefs are 2-0 as Swifties,” while its bio on X read, “NFL (Taylor’s Version),” but they have also been promoting her upcoming ERAS tour film.

If you are a Taylor Swift fan, then you likely appreciate the fun that the NFL is having with this particular relationship. And yet, the league has also been criticized for it as well, with Travis Kelce telling his brother on their podcast that he felt as if it was being overdone and it all needs to be toned down.

Now the NFL is defending itself and reminding everyone that this is not only a bit of fun, but it is also a way to bring in a new demographic of viewers and fans, much like they were hoping to do with the recent Toy Story football game that aired on ESPN+ and Disney+.

Here’s what the NFL had to say about them leaning into the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship, according to ESPN:

"We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally. The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more."

And honestly, I agree with the NFL. I think they are not going overboard with the way they have leaned into this pop culture moment. For a lot of us, it is a fun way to bring together different interests together.

I love seeing all the little ways that the NFL has acknowledged Taylor Swift and her football love right now. Now let’s just hope we actually do get more iconic moments with Swift and Kelce to keep us coming back for more.