Three years after Travis Kelce was drafted into the Nationwide Soccer League, the tight finish courted 50 contestants, one from every state, for a “Bachelor”-esque relationship present on E! Leisure that drew little discover.
His profile has risen considerably since “Catching Kelce” aired in 2016. He has gained two Tremendous Bowls with Kansas Metropolis — catching a landing in every — and earned eight Professional Bowl choices whereas dabbling as a media character, internet hosting a “Saturday Evening Reside” episode and helming a preferred soccer podcast.
However by way of maximizing his superstar, nothing compares to Kelce’s brush with the aura of Taylor Swift, a 12-time Grammy winner whose Eras Tour this 12 months has shattered live performance information and even registered seismic exercise.
Kelce and Swift, each 33, have remained quiet about whether or not they’re associates or a pair, or simply two celebrities attempting to leverage one another’s fame. However followers recurrently dissect Swift’s relationship life and failed relationships, which she has written about in her personal songs.
After weeks of hypothesis a few connection between Kelce and Swift, who broke up with the actor Joe Alwyn this 12 months, she attended Kelce’s sport at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas Metropolis, Mo., on Sunday, watching from a luxurious suite together with his mom because the Chiefs trounced the Chicago Bears. Fox cameras panned to Swift’s response almost each time Kelce touched the ball. The singer’s devoted swarm of followers additionally tuned in, with a number of posting on social media that they have been watching soccer for the primary time.
Swift, carrying a red-and-white outfit that matched Kansas Metropolis’s colours, was then seen leaving the stadium with Kelce.
Regardless of Kelce’s relative fame within the sports activities world, changing into a part of the frenzied dialog round Swift’s each transfer is one other ballgame. Kelce now has 3.2 million followers on Instagram. Swift has 273 million.
“This places him on a very totally different aircraft from the place he was as a celeb,” mentioned Daniel Durbin, a professor of communication on the College of Southern California. “That is superstar on steroids, and it has a strong influence.”
As skilled athletes close to retirement of their 30s and early 40s, many start to plot their subsequent profession strikes. Some grow to be broadcasters, whereas others flip to Hollywood. LeBron James, the star basketball participant, has began his personal tequila model and mentioned he needs to personal a staff.
That Kelce and Swift have been in the identical stadium this weekend introduced collectively two fandoms that don’t typically overlap. A spokesman for Fanatics, the N.F.L.’s official retailer, mentioned that gross sales of Kelce’s jersey had spiked by 400 % as of Monday.
Coaches and gamers from throughout the N.F.L. additionally took discover.
Invoice Belichick, the Patriots coach identified for gruff solutions to reporters’ questions, mentioned on a radio present that “Travis Kelce’s had a variety of massive catches in his profession — this is able to be the largest.” The star Cowboys defender Micah Parsons posted on X, previously referred to as Twitter, that one girl “can change your life!!!”
Movie star relationships within the N.F.L. will not be new, however they’re usually reserved for star quarterbacks who contact the ball each play. Russell Wilson married the singer Ciara in 2016; Tom Brady, who gained seven Tremendous Bowls, spent 16 years with the mannequin Gisele Bündchen earlier than they divorced final 12 months.
It’s rarer, however not inconceivable, for a good finish to drive the nationwide dialog. However Kelce, propelled by his trendy outfits, trimmed beard and haircut and his charismatic character, has emerged as one of many N.F.L.’s most marketable stars. Earlier than Swift, his fame had crescendoed due to a candid podcast he hosts together with his brother, Jason, the middle for the Philadelphia Eagles. (Their relationship was a preferred matter earlier than final season’s Tremendous Bowl, through which the Chiefs narrowly defeated the Eagles.)
On their weekly podcast, “New Heights,” the Kelces talk about their lives as skilled athletes and converse with high-profile visitors like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell. It was additionally the place the Kelce-Swift story line started.
In July, Travis Kelce mentioned on his podcast that he had wished to present Swift a friendship bracelet throughout her live performance tour cease in Kansas Metropolis, however that she had declined to fulfill him in an effort to save her voice. Final week, amid rumors that the celebrities have been relationship, Kelce confirmed in an ESPN interview solely that he had invited Swift to a sport.
“I advised her that, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead. You may need to come back see me rock the stage in Arrowhead, and see which one’s slightly extra lit,’” Kelce mentioned.
No matter occurs with Kelce and Swift, the eye could possibly be benefiting them each.
Her live performance film, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” releases subsequent month, and he’s already pursuing a profession exterior sports activities. He advised The Los Angeles Instances this summer time that he thought of Peyton Manning, the Corridor of Fame quarterback and founding father of the content material firm Omaha Productions, a mentor, and he just lately signed with the highly effective media conglomerate Artistic Artists Company.
