NFL hit back at criticism it was “overdoing” coverage of Taylor Swift amid her rumored romance with Kansas City Chiefs’ player Travis Kelce — after the pop singer appeared at two of his recent games and popped up numerous times during the broadcast.
The league said the Swift-Kelce reported romance has “been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time” following all the attention the NFL and broadcasts have shown to the 33-year-old pop singer, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
After Kansas City’s 23-20 win over the Jets, the NFL changed its Instagram bio to “chiefs are 2-0 as swifties” and was criticized. The league also wrote “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” in its bio on X (formerly Twitter) after the Chiefs’ victory against the Chicago Bears the week prior.
“We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally,” the league said in a statement.
“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,” it added.
Travis Kelce has a message for the NFL amid all the Taylor Swift hype: You need to calm down.https://t.co/bgUYLfx5Pp
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) October 4, 2023
“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,” the league’s statement concluded.
The NFL comments came after Kelce said the NFL is “overdoing it” with all the coverage it had of his rumored girlfriend, Swift.
During the two-time Super Bowl champ’s weekly podcast “New Heights” — co-hosted with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce — the siblings talked about the attention the NFL and broadcasters gave to the “Blank Space” hitmaker as she attended the Chiefs’ recent games against the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets, seemingly capturing everything the pop icon did during the game.
“I think it’s fun when they show who all was at the game,” the Chiefs’ player replied. “I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings a little bit more to what you’re watching. But at the same time I think —”
“They’re overdoing it,” Jason interjected and his brother agreed.
“They’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation,” Travis said. “I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”
Related: Travis Kelce Says NFL ‘Overdoing It’ With Taylor Swift
