Jason, Travis Kelce call out NFL and NBC for 'overdoing it' with the Taylor Swift coverage

Maybe, just maybe, the 17 times NBC cameras flashed to Taylor Swift Sunday night was one too many. So says rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason.

The two mentioned all the attention during their Wednesday edition of their New Heights podcast. Travis Kelce was with his Kansas City teammates on the field at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, N.J. Swift sat with some of her very famous friends, including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, in a stadium suite. It was her second straight Sunday spent watching the Chiefs. The NFL, via its X account, touted to the millions and millions or Swifties that the Chiefs were 2-0 when their queen cheered him on in person.

On the podcast, Jason Kelce asked Travis: “What is your honest opinion on how the NFL is treating celebrities at games?”

Umm, just say her name, Taylor Swift.

Travis Kelce offers: “I think it’s fun when they show who all is at the game. I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings more to what you’re watching. But at the same time…”

Jason finishes the thought: “They’re overdoing it.”

“They’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation,” Travis Kelce says. “I think they’re just trying to have fun with it…”

Jason Kelce added: “I just think the NFL is not used to having celebrities come to the games. Basketball has it figured out. They’re all courtside, they’re sitting there, they show them once or twice and then they get back to the game.”

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

Let’s count the times NBC panned to Taylor Swift

Here’s how much fun NBC, which broadcast the game, had with it. Front Office Sports counted 17 instances where the cameras panned to Taylor Swift, who came to the game football casual with her denim shorts, black shirt and jacket. The cameras showed her get out of an SUV inside the stadium and followed her as she went through security. She brought a bevy of famous friends with her. And to be inclusive to her new KC friends, she also started hanging out with Brittany Mahomes, Patrick Mahomes‘ wife.

NBC showed two commercials for Taylor Swift’s new movie. Travis Kelce starred in three commercials. Mahomes was in two, with Chiefs coach Andy Reid co-starring in the quarterback’s ad for State Farm.

Final stats from tonight's broadcast, per our count:

Cutaways to Taylor Swift: 17
Commercials for Swift's new movie: 2
Commercials with Travis Kelce in them: 3
Commercial with Patrick Mahomes in them: 2
Commercials with Andy Reid in them: 1 pic.twitter.com/m0HSBIense

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 2, 2023

Travis Kelce isn’t only NFL player with close celebrity friends

It’s not like the NFL has never seen a celebrity. Tom Brady was married to Gisele Bündchen, the world’s most famous super model. Bills quarterback Josh Allen is dating Academy-Award-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld. San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey is engaged to Olivia Culpo, a former Miss Universe and a social media influencer.

And reality star Kim Kardashian reportedly is seeing Odell Beckham Jr. She’s also dated Reggie Bush and Miles Austin. They all bring famous friends to games. But they’re sitting in private suites in stadiums that hold thousands of fans. Taylor Swift isn’t the only famous Taylor with an NFL relationship. Taylor Sheridan, who created Yellowstone, is a friend of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and a frequent visitor to Jones’ suite at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The Chiefs are on the road, Sunday, to play the Minnesota Vikings. There’s no word on whether Taylor Swift will attend in person, so Swifties, stand by for now. But the Chiefs-Jets, which turned into a tight, competitive game, pulled in 27 million viewers. That included 2 million young women who are likely new NFL viewers.

For context, it’s the largest TV/streaming audience for the 2023 season. But the NFL always dominates the TV ratings. In 2022, 82 of the top 100 most viewed television programs were NFL games. The most-watched regular season game of last season was the Cowboys-Giants with a TV/streaming audience of 41.3 million. It also was on Thanksgiving.