It’s no secret that Taylor Swift’s presence at Kansas City Chiefs games led to an increase in ratings for the NFL. But according to NFL VP of Broadcast Planning Mike North, this doesn’t mean that the league factored her in when it came to the 2024-25 NFL schedule.
North spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday, detailing that Swift played no part in the Chiefs’ schedule despite her very publically discussed relationship with Travis Kelce. North even joked that Swift played a bigger part in his niece’s recent Bat Mitzvah than she did in the schedule.
“She had a bigger influence in my niece Gabby’s Bat Mitzvah last weekend,” said North. It was Gabby’s version, so there was a lot of Taylor being played at the Bat Mitzvah. Did the NFL strategically try to schedule Chiefs games near her tour dates so she could attend? I promise you, no.”
You can believe what you want to believe when it comes to the NFL’s true motives here. But what cannot be argued is that the league seemingly seized every opportunity to put the Chiefs in nationally televised games.
The Chiefs are scheduled for four primetime games this coming season, two Sunday Night Football games and two Monday Night Football games. They also received games on Black Friday and Christmas Day, where they will be highlighted.
In addition, the Chiefs will take part in five nationally televised afternoon games. This means that over half of the team’s games will in one way or another be viewed by a national audience.
Yes, the Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions. So it makes sense for the league to highlight them as as much, regardless of Taylor Swift. But Swift now has the opportunity to be on national television plenty if she chooses to attend Chiefs games this year. which is certainly an added bonus for the league.
