How Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Partnership Has Affected Sports Business

The partnership between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has reverberated across almost every realm of the American cultural industrial complex. Here's a list of the most notable, direct changes that have occurred so far.

Instagram Followers

In one week, Travis Kelce, @killatrav, has seen his Instagram followers grow by 500,000, a 20% increase. At 3.2 million followers, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is now the sixth-most followed NFL player. As for Swift, she's the 12th most followed person on the platform with 272 million followers.

Taylor's Shoes

Taylor wore red and white New Balance 550s to the game. New Balance, which has an incredible marketing team, was on it right away — as were retailers like Champs Sports, who spent money on Instagram ads promoting the shoes. Kudos to New Balance, who still have the shoes available in stock in all sizes.

Travis' Outfit

Walter Payton's son Jarrett — who works for WGN-TV in Chicago and was covering the Bears — caught Kelce and Swift leaving the game. Kelce was wearing a jacket by a company called KidSuper called Bedroom Painting. When a marketer at the company saw this, they decided to take advantage by renaming the jacket, "1989 Bedroom Painting," in honor of the name of Swift's album and the year she was born. Some on social media thought the outfit was pre-planned as a result. The jacket sold out in all sizes on the company's website.

Jersey Sales

Fanatics revealed that they saw a roughly 400% increase in Kelce jersey sales over the weekend, perhaps due to an influx of Swifties looking for an 87 Chiefs jersey. Another factor? Halloween is looming. How many couples are going to rock the Swift-Kelce couple outfit?

Free Meals

After the game, Kelce and Swift had to go somewhere, but wanted their privacy. Those who were at the restaurant Prime Social Rooftop in Kansas City were told their meals would be paid for if they left immediately so Kelce and Swift could have their moment. An after party, with select invited guests, reportedly took place at the restaurant until 2 a.m.

Podcast Bump

Travis and his brother Jason have the No. 1 podcast on Apple, New Heights. It's not unrealistic, depending on how long the relationship lasts, that a new group of listeners could lead to millions of dollars more in revenue for the brothers.