Even Travis Kelce thinks the NFL is 'overdoing it' with Taylor Swift coverage
Travis Kelce has new information to share about his relationship with Taylor Swift.
No, he's not confirming their dating status. (That would be too easy.) Instead, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared his feelings about how the NFL and its broadcasting partner NBC have covered his dalliance with Swift.
On "New Heights," the podcast he does with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce said that the league and NBC went overboard with their coverage.
"I think it's fun when they show who's at the game," Travis said. "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, they're overdoing it a little bit."
Jason and Travis Kelce call out the NFL and NBC for going “overboard” on Taylor Swift coverage. pic.twitter.com/fT0xtn3RjB
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 4, 2023
The 33-year-old Kelce said in an August episode of the podcast that he had a crush on Swift. That news eventually made its way to Swift, who then attended the Chiefs' Week 3 game against the Chicago Bears, where she hung out with Donna Kelce, the mother of Travis and Jason. Cameras caught Swift and Kelce leaving the stadium together, and the following week she traveled to the New York City area to watch the Chiefs face the New York Jets, bringing along friends like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
"I just think the NFL is not used to celebrities coming to the games," Jason added. "Like basketball has it all figured out. They're all courtside, they're sitting there. They show 'em once or twice, but then they get back to the game."
The elder Kelce's observation is astute. Despite the NFL being the biggest sport in the land, it doesn't know how to handle celebrities, while MLB and the NBA have it all figured out. They know how to show LeBron James in a luxury box at a Cleveland Guardians playoff game, or Jack Nicholson sitting courtside watching the Los Angeles Lakers, without making it seem like the entire game is about them.
Despite that, it's hard to fault the NFL for trying to flow with the current. Swift, the biggest star on the planet right now, is choosing to connect herself with football, something she hasn't done with any other sport. The NFL has been given this gift of extra media attention, and finally it's not because it has done something stupid or embarrassing.
But if you look at this situation from yet another angle, it feels weird and borderline inappropriate that the NFL is focusing so much attention on the personal life of one of its players, turning a possible relationship between Kelce and Swift into a marketing opportunity.
Given all of this, it's remarkable Travis Kelce is so balanced in his response. Saying the NFL is "overdoing" the Swift coverage is like saying the Chicago Bears are having a bad season. It's true, but it's nowhere near the whole story.
Kelce's comments about overboard Swift coverage were extremely mild. They barely qualify as criticism. But the NFL, perhaps a little bruised from the social media reaction to their focus on Swift, released a statement about the matter Wednesday afternoon that sounded just a bit defensive.
"We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally," the NFL said via People. "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."
The statement notably focuses on the NFL's decision to use images of Swift at the Chiefs game on their social media bios. They don't mention the 10+ times they they showed Swift during the actual broadcast while she was trying to watch the game with her friends, which was actually the bigger issue. There's an art to covering celebrities at sporting events, and the NFL has a lot of learning to do.
