Did Taylor Swift Help Boost NFL Salaries by 22 Million USD After Going Public With Travis Kelce? Fans React

Taylor Swift dating Travis Kelce contributes to the NFL's salary cap jump. Fans react to the pop sensation's immense influence.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Feb 20, 2025 | 04:41 PM IST | 23.2K

Taylor Swift via Getty Images

The NFL's newest salary cap raise has created much reaction, and fans are linking it to a most unlikely cause: Taylor Swift.

The 'Taylor Swift Effect' has been thoroughly documented, with her reach going beyond music. For the second year in a row, the NFL has set a huge salary cap hike for the 2025 season. It is reportedly listed at between 277.5 million USD and 281.5 million USD. This would be a rise of at least 53 million USD each of the last two seasons, enabling teams to hold onto franchise players and make significant roster maneuvers.

Swift's influence ranges from TV viewership to social media interaction and online news coverage and, thus, her league influence cannot be denied. With Swift having attended several Chiefs games during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, fans have attributed her influence to being a factor in the NFL's record-breaking revenues. Others maintain that the overlap of her relationship with Travis Kelce with the league's revenue explosion is no coincidence.

One Swiftie took to X to write, "I still think @NFL owes an apology and a thank you, Taylor Swift. Apology for capitalizing her attendance each time and putting her in such a bad light in front of the chads and brads out there. Thank you because she helped the NFL reach an even bigger spotlight (internationally)."

Another wrote, "Swift simply attending games helped with this a lot but the average football fan will still go batshit over the broadcast showing her for a couple seconds."

Find more of the fan reactions here:

The Karma hitmaker could be spotted supporting her boyfriend, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, since September 2023. Her appearance at the games has reportedly garnered over 1 billion USD in brand value for the NFL.

Whether her presence directly influenced the salary cap boost, one thing is certain: Taylor Swift has attracted a new demographic to the NFL, increasing its visibility and participation.