Grammy winner’s relationship with Chiefs TE is constantly in the headlines

Since she started dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, pop superstar Taylor Swift has attended 16 of the team’s games, including their Super Bowl LVIII win over the San Francisco 49ers in February.

Her presence at those games has been a hot-button issue among some NFL players and a lot of fans, with the latter showing frustration with how much the league has leaned into Swift’s celebrity status and how much air time she gets during live broadcasts.

And while some sports media pundits like Todd McShay and others have been outspoken about their disapproval of Kelce’s relationship with the 14-time Grammy winner, but ESPN’s Pat McAfee feels differently.

During Wednesday’s “New Heights” podcast, McAfee let Kelce know exactly how he feels about his high-profile romance with Swift.

“You and Taylor’s relationship is great for the sport,” McAfee said. “It is getting introduced to so many people. … Your relationship is exposing the sport to a lot of people, and I think a lot of people are falling in love [with football].”

Taylor Swift

December 3, 2023; Green Bay, WI; Taylor Swift, center, arrives before the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY NETWORK

Kelce thanked McAfee for the compliment during the podcast and also acknowledged that others likely feel the same way but only because the Chiefs are 20-6 since he and Swift got together.

“We’ve just got to keep winning,” Kelce said. “If we lose, it’s going to absolutely f***ing rain down, baby. Just got to keep winning and staying on top.”

McAfee’s opinion of the Kelce-Swift relationship falls in line with the majority of NFLers recently polled by The Athletic.

During the anonymous player survey, players were asked if they believed Swift’s presence at NFL games a was positive, negative or neither with 72.5% saying it was a good thing, 22.5% stating they were indifferent, and 4.9% claiming Swift’s presence was a negative for the league.