Taylor Swift is the greatest ad for the Super Bowl in NFL history
Taylor Swift is single-handedly reviving interest in pro football among younger U.S. adults, polling data shows.
Spending on football has been swift since a certain pop star started rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs, who will face off against the San Francisco 49ers in the 58th Super Bowl this year.
Ever since Taylor Swift began dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and regularly appearing at his games, her legion of fans have also, quite suddenly, become NFL viewers. Many are invested enough in the sport, and Kelce's team, that they have snapped up game tickets, jerseys, memorabilia and streaming subscriptions, as well as hosting watch parties, according to LendingTree.
Overall, 16% of U.S. consumers said Swift had influenced them to spend money on football, the online lending marketplace found in a recent survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers. Three-quarters of Americans say they plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, with those watching planning to spend $116 on average, according to the survey.
More specifically, 24% Gen-Zers and 20% of millennials say they're more interested in football this year because of Swift's relationship with Kelce. That is helping to counter what market research suggests has been declining interest in the NFL and other professional sports among younger viewers in recent years.
"There are an awful lot of people out there who are more likely to watch the Super Bowl now because the Chiefs are in it and Taylor Swift may be there," LendingTree analyst Matt Schulz told CBS MoneyWatch
Swift effect
When the Chiefs faced off against the Miami Dolphins in a playoff game earlier this month, the game was broadcast exclusively NBC Universal-owned streaming service Peacock, which costs $6 a month. While not exclusively driven by Swift fans, Peacock acquired nearly 3 million new subscribers the weekend of the game, according to analytics service Antenna.
Nearly 40% of Gen-Zers say they've spent money on football thanks to her, while six-figure earners were the most likely to say that Swift had piqued their interest in football. LendingTree found.
"The fact she's having this much of an influence is remarkable, but people shouldn't be surprised because we have seen it in practically everything she's touched," Schulz said.
Indeed, the signer's record-setting "Eras Tour" concert series has boosted local economies across the U.S. — a phenomenon some have dubbed the "Swift effect." The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in July announced that her tour led to a noticeable uptick in travel and tourism to the region. And Cincinnati hotels grossed $2.6 million the weekend she performed there, according to the the local CBS affiliate.
Hoping to cash in on the hubbub around Swift's connection to this year's Super Bowl in Las Vegas, sports gambling services are offering a range of non-football related "proposition" bets focused on her and Kelce. Bettors can place wagers on everything from the couple appearing together in a commercial to the likelihood of them announcing their first pregnancy at the game.
"We definitely expect to see a significant uptick in the prop bets because of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. We think some of these are going to get a fair amount of action," BetUS spokesperson Tim Williams told CBS MoneyWatch this week. "She's peppered throughout all of the different props."