Seventeen times.
That’s how many times NBC’s Sunday Night Football was interrupted by footage of Taylor Swift watching her rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs play the New York Jets with a host of famous friends in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
It’s a lot. That’s too much for some NFL fans, who have begun to express dissatisfaction with the attention the league and its broadcasters are paying to “ME!” singer this season.
Kelce and his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, addressed the topic Wednesday on their weekly “New Heights” podcast.
And yes, they agree—the NFL is “overdoing it” with its coverage of Swift.
Jason initiated the discussion by asking his brother for his “honest opinion” on “how the NFL treats celebrities at games” while reminding him to “put away your feelings for Taylor” as he considered his answer (that last part got a big laugh from Travis ).
“I think it’s fun to show who everyone is in the game, you know?” Travis Kelce said. “I think it brings a little more to the atmosphere, a little more to what you’re watching. But at the same time I think, uh…”
Jason jumped up and said, “They overdid it.”
Travis responded: “They certainly went a little overboard. Especially my situation.”
Jason has advice for the seemingly star-struck NFL.
“I just think the NFL isn’t used to having celebrities come to games,” he said. “It’s like everything in basketball is thought out. They are all at the court, they are sitting there. They show them once or twice, but then they go back to playing. NFL officials say, “Look at all these A-listers in the game!” Keep showing them, keep showing them! Listen, show them once, let (us) know they’re there, maybe after you land you’ll get a little clip. But you can’t overdo it.”
The brothers discussed Front Office Sports’ count, which included 17 cuts to Swift, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Hugh Jackman and others enjoying the game from their suite (for the record, the sports media tracker also counted eight cuts to injured Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during match). broadcast).
“Damn, it’s crazy,” Travis Kelce said of how many times the “Don’t Blame Me” singer was featured during the game. “It’s like driving once.”
Jason added, “I mean, this is more than Jack Nicholson playing on the Lakers court.”
NBC was rewarded for its efforts with 27 million viewers, more than any Sunday night show since the Super Bowl in February. That number was boosted by a 53% increase in teenage girls, according to Nielsen Fast National. All of this has led Jason Kelce to conclude that the Swiftie era in the NFL isn’t ending anytime soon.
“I think what we do know is that they’re not going to slow down because this was the most watched Sunday night game they’ve seen in a while,” he said. “Twenty-seven million viewers watched Zach Wilson take on the Kansas City Chiefs.” I think some of them might be there for Deadpool and Taylor.”