Taylor Swift has been great for the NFL – commissioner Roger Goodell
By Jamie Gardner, PA Chief Sports Reporter
Grabbing the attention of Taylor Swift fans has been a huge positive for the NFL, its commissioner has said.
The American musician’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce has prompted ‘Swifties’ to take an increased interest in the competition, and its top executive Roger Goodell says that is an extremely welcome boost.
“It’s great. She’s brought a great deal of attention obviously to the league and with her fanbase, which is a slightly different fanbase than the NFL, but it’s brought them into the game,” he said at Leaders Week London.
“As Taylor has said many times, ‘I came in not understanding the game as well as I should have, and I love it’.
“And to see her convert to a fan who really loves the game, yeah I think it’s a great thing for us, and so all those young fans that are coming in it’s a plus for the NFL.”
Swift and Kelce announced last month they were getting engaged. Swift has attended a number of Kelce’s matches, including the last two Super Bowls.
There were reports that the NFL had discussed the possibility of Swift being the star turn for the half-time show at next year’s Super Bowl but terms could not be agreed, with Bad Bunny announced instead.
Goodell was speaking days before the Cleveland Browns take on the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first of three NFL matches taking place in London this month.
And he said he was open to the idea of NFL matches being played in UK cities beyond London.
“London’s a great market for us, but I think there are other cities that express an interest, and I think we’ll probably consider that at some point,” he said.
He appeared to rule out the possibility of playing a Super Bowl in London, however.
“Maybe it’s an indication of how far we’ve come, that it’s even being discussed (by others),” he said.
“It’s hard for me to look down the path, but I would say the major focus for us is to play the Super Bowl in markets where we have franchises.
“It’s a huge economic impact. Last year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans was over a billion dollar economic impact, and that’s not including all of the additional exposure and all the other things that I would say are non-quantifiable.
“That’s a significant investment that we feel our communities where we’re playing deserve.”
