The Kansas City Chiefs kick off the 2024 season with a home matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night and it’s safe to say ratings should skyrocket as fans flock to their TVs.
The Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid are entering 2024 with the chance to compete for their third-straight Super Bowl title and fourth in five seasons.
After it took 21 seasons for Reid to finally capture a Super Bowl title, Reid is seeking his third-straight Super Bowl to continue the almost unstoppable run since the franchise landed Patrick Mahomes as its starting QB. Reid is just the fourth coach to make five Super Bowl appearances, a third Super Bowl title would put Reid with Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs as the only head coaches to win at least three Super Bowl titles.
It’s no surprise the NFL decided to schedule the Kansas City Chiefs as the first game to kickoff the new season — because beyond the allure of watching superstar QB Patrick Mahomes pull off at least a few insane highlight-worthy plays — Travis Kelce will be suiting up for yet another year and Taylor Swift is already rumored as planning to be in attendance.
So naturally, it’s a smart business move by the NFL.
Last year, Swift and Kelce’s relationship became public in late September and the global pop superstar became a focal point of broadcasts during Chiefs games. The NFL understands the power of Swift and her fan base. Big-time NFL games were already putting up insane numbers which means more money for everyone involved, but with Swift in the box cheering for Kelce, ratings skyrocketed into a new stratosphere.
NFL Fans Furious Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s GF Taylor Swift Showcased In 2024 Promo Video
Since the NFL schedule for 2024 was released, there have been rumors that Chiefs games were carefully schedule in unison with Swift’s tour schedule, ensuring the pop superstar will be able to conveniently attend games.
On Monday, the NFL X/Twitter account shared its hype video for the 2024 season that’s now only two days away. Taylor Swift, who’s in a highly-publicized relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, shows up five times in the 30-second video:
FOOTBALL IS BACK THIS WEEK 🏈 🚨 pic.twitter.com/YVR8kbZnfm
— NFL (@NFL) September 2, 2024
Fans pointed out that NFL NFL superstars Joe Burrow, CJ Stroud, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Jordan Love, Justin Jefferson, Myles Garrett and TJ Watt weren’t featured once in the hype video, yet the global musician was shown five times.
It’s easy to see why many people believe the NFL is purposefully showcasing Swift as much as possible and why many believe the league built the schedule to ensure she could be at as many Kansas City Chiefs games as possible.
Swift is set to have concerts at Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, three days in a row from Friday Oct. 18 through Sunday Oct. 20. She will then travel to New Orleans for three consecutive days of shows at the Caesars Superdome, the New Orleans Saints’ home field, from Friday Oct. 25 through Sunday Oct. 27. The final leg of her U.S. return wraps up at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts, from Friday Nov. 1 through Sunday Nov. 3.
The NFL made sure to send Miami north to Indianapolis to play the Colts in Week 7 (Sunday, Oct. 20), New Orleans out west to Los Angeles to play the Chargers in Week 8 (Sunday, Oct. 27) and Indianapolis northwest to Minnesota to face the Vikings in Week 9 (Sunday, Nov. 3).
Swift happens to be in Toronto performing at the Rogers Centre, from Nov. 14 through 16 and Nov. 21 through 23. Coincidentally, the NFL scheduled the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to play in Buffalo against the Bills in Week 11 on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS when she doesn’t have a concert.
That would make it a breeze for Swift to make the just over two-hour drive that separates the Rogers Centre and Highmark Stadium, the home of the Bills, so Swift could catch her man in action.
NFL VP of broadcast planning Mike North admitted Swift’s Eras Tour played a role in planning the schedule, but it has nothing to do with trying to make sure she can make Kelce’s games or help bring in extra bucks that come with her getting air time during a game.
“As best we could, we try to accommodate whether it’s Taylor Swift or Green Day or Billy Joel or Ed Sheeran or Pink or Lady Gaga or anybody else out on tour,” North continued. “We know these buildings are used for things other than NFL football. To the extent that the Dolphins, the Saints and the Colts each had one weekend this year where they had hoped to be on the road or [on] bye, Taylor Swift impacted the NFL schedule.”
It will be interested to see how much Swift is the focal point during Kansas City Chiefs games this season.
