Taylor Swift has helped direct big bucks toward the NFL — with 16% of US shoppers admitting the pop star influenced them to spend cash on football in the walkup to Super Bowl LVII, according to a recent survey.
The numbers mean that of 333.3 million Americans, according to the latest census data, some 53 million have spent money on the sport since Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce first went public with their romance.
Most shelled out cash for jerseys and memorabilia or on a streaming service subscription to watch NFL games, according to a study on credit card spending by online financial firm LendingTree on Monday.
Gen Zers were the most likely to say Swift influenced their football-related card charges, LendingTree reported, with 39% of the 11-to-26-year-olds in the generation admitting that the “Eras Tour” star coerced them into making a football purchase.
It wasn’t immediately clear if jersey and memorabilia spending included merchandise featuring No. 87 — the number sported by Swift’s beau, Kelce, who is going viral yet again after telling his pop-star girlfriend “I love you” in footage shared to social media after the Chiefs topped the Ravens in the AFC Championship game.
Kelce’s merchandise sales reportedly skyrocketed 400% after Swift, 34, first popped up in a box at Arrowhead Stadium in September, sending her boyfriend’s jersey among the top-five selling jerseys in the NFL.
Sports marketing experts have also estimated that the Swift-Kelce era could generate as much as $10 million in off-the-field earnings for the 34-year-old tight end.
Swift is also set to have an impact on the Super Bowl’s audience as the Chief’s AFC Championship win — their fourth in five years — means the “Blank Space” singer could be in Las Vegas to watch Kelce face off against the San Francisco 49ers.
In fact, six-figure earners are significantly more likely to say they’re more interested in the Super Bowl because of Swift than any other income group, according to LendingTree, which found that 21% of Americans earning over $100,000 will be tuning into the big game because of Swift.
Of the 2,000 respondents, men were are also more likely to say their interest in football and the Super Bowl was piqued because of Swift.
While 12% of female respondents said Swift influenced their NFL viewing hours — and will influence them to watch the Super Bowl this year — 15% of men said the same, LendingTree found.
Aside from tuning into the Super Bowl to see the singer — who was named Time’s 2023 “Person of the Year” — 18% said they’ll be rooting for the Chiefs because of Swift.
That figure rises to 26% among millennials and 31% among Gen Zers, LendingTree reported.
According to LendingTree’s chief credit analyst Matt Schulz, the figures aren’t surprising.
“If there’s one thing that people should’ve learned all too well by now, it’s that you should never be surprised by the enormity of Swift’s influence,” he said.
“We’ve seen it with her records and concerts, of course, but we’ve also seen it in movies, politics and now football. She’s an absolute force to be reckoned with economically, and while her grip on the American public isn’t going to last forever, no one should bet on it fading much anytime soon.”
However, Swift’s influence has already had a huge financial impact on the NFL — to the tune of $331.5 million in “brand value,” Front Office Sports recently reported, citing data from Apex Marketing Group.
This data accounted for print, digital, radio, television, highlights and social media monitoring Swift since she attended her first Chiefs game on Sept. 24, through Jan. 22 — one day after her divisional-round appearance in Buffalo — and calculated a financial amount for each occurrence based on “reach and impact,” according to the report.
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