Taylor Swift effect: Travis Kelce jersey sales jump 400%

Ed Zurga/AP

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift’s trip to watch the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce play football against the Bears on Sunday didn’t just have the internet talking nonstop. Following the 12-time Grammy Award winner’s appearance at Arrowhead Stadium, jersey sales for the All-Pro tight-end seemingly skyrocketed.

According to sportswear and fan merchandise company Fanatics, Kelce was one of the top 5 selling NFL players Sunday. He “saw a nearly 400% spike in sales throughout the Fanatics network of sites, including NFLShop.com,” a spokesperson told The Associated Press via email.

Sales spiked on the same day that Swift was spotted in Kansas City, watching the Chiefs alongside Kelce’s mother, Donna, from one of the football stadium’s glass-enclosed suites.

Kelce did not speak to reporters afterward, but he was spotted leaving Arrowhead with Swift by his side.

Still, just about everyone in the Kansas City locker room was buzzing about the news after Sunday’s game, including coach Andy Reid, who joked that “I set them up.”

Swift has always been reluctant to discuss her personal life in public, but rumors have been flying about the pop star and the pro football player in recent months — notably after a July episode of Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, when he said he was disappointed that he didn’t get to meet Swift and gift her a friendship bracelet during the Kansas City stop on her Eras Tour. In a later appearance on the “The Pat McAfee Show,” Kelce revealed that he invited Swift to watch him play.

Swift is currently on a break from her Eras Tour, which resumes Nov. 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Beyond jersey sales, the NFL has also met the internet hype of Swift’s trip to Arrowhead. As of Tuesday, the NFL’s bio on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, read “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” alongside a photo of Swift and Donna Kelce watching Sunday’s game.