The Super Bowl is America's unofficial holiday, a rare event in which the entire country seems to pause its activities to focus on a specific time and place.
And now there's Taylor Swift.
Can even a cultural phenomenon like Swift have an economic impact on a contest like the Super Bowl simply by showing up and sitting in a club-level suite?
The simple answer is, “Yes, you can.” John Allgood and Timothy DeSchreiber, who teach and research sports marketing and business at the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware, think Swift needs the extra publicity. I see a lot of ways to financially change a league that doesn't seem to do it.
Keep in mind that this is a game where icons like Beyoncé, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, and the Rolling Stones line up to perform at the halftime show for free.
“The NFL doesn't pay for appearances because so many people watch the halftime show,” Allgood said. (The league pays a very large amount of money to put on the show.)
“Almost every American has already seen this movie,” Deschriver said.
Just 30 seconds of Super Bowl advertising already costs millions of dollars, and the price continues to rise every year.
Still, the NFL could benefit even more thanks to Swift's relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who was pretty well known in his own right.
First, there is television viewership, which indirectly generates revenue through advertising, Allgood explained. Networks set prices using ratings that estimate what percentage of the population is watching and convincing advertisers it's worth their money.
“The more people watch, the more we can charge advertisers,” Allgood said.
The audience is already large, but Swift has the potential to grow it even more.
Allgood said the NFL's female audience is already growing, but with Swift's arrival, “we're reaching a fresher audience, if not a new audience.”
An average of 17.9 million people watched NFL games on TV or streaming services this season, an increase of 7% from last year and the highest since 2015. wall street journal Reported in the Swift Impact article.
The recent AFC Championship game between Kelce's Chiefs and Ravens drew more than 60 million viewers, Deschriver said. According to the NFL, this is the largest in the history of the game. He doesn't expect a huge increase for the Super Bowl, but says, “There's a chance that there will be a 5 to 10 percent increase in people who previously weren't interested in wanting to watch 30 seconds of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite.'' 'Will there be?' ? Yeah, I could see it coming,' he said.
He also pointed to new advertiser interest that could potentially reach new audiences. Front Office Sports reported that Elf Cosmetics and L'Oréal brand NYX Professional Makeup aired their first-ever Super Bowl ad, marking Dove's return after opting out for 18 years. Coincidence? perhaps.
The NFL will also benefit from the product. Allgood mentioned clothing designer Kristin Juszczyk, who signed an NFL licensing deal with Swift after she wore the designer's down coat at a game. (Both Juszczyk and the NFL would benefit financially from that).
And of course, Travis Kelce's jerseys have seen a notable spike since he started dating Swift.
Gamblers can also win or lose money with Swift. “Prop bets” allow you to bet on almost anything in the Super Bowl. Deschriver said that even in a close game, betting on trivia such as the length of the national anthem, who will score the first touchdown, or even a coin toss can keep people engaged in the game. I pointed out that it can be done.
“I think there are some bets on how many seconds you can see[Swift]on TV,” he said. (NPR reported on Taylor Swift's various bets).
Allgood pointed to Spike Lee's penchant for attending Knicks games, noting that celebrities attending games is not unusual for sports. But Swift is completely different.
“A lot of celebrities go to NBA games. But people don't go to games or watch games to see celebrities,” Allgood said. “Whereas with Taylor Swift, some people watch the show just to see her in a suite for five seconds.”
While some fans may be annoyed by even the short camera cutout on the Kelsebox, Allgood said he has talked to friends, colleagues and students in the industry and doesn't think people care all that much. Stated.
He said Networks was trying to find the right balance of camera time and believes it has achieved that. “I don't think it takes away from the appeal of the game.”
Allgood also noted the media benefits from the coverage of Swift and Kelce, which he said not only benefits news and entertainment organizations, but also the NFL.
The benefits were quite large. DeSchriver cited an Apex Marketing Group report that estimated Swift's brand value to the NFL and the Chiefs at more than $330 million. “The numbers, calculated on January 22, are derived from print, digital, radio, television, highlights and social media,” Front Office Sports reported.
DeShriver said all of this and said the NFL didn't have to do anything.
“I think they like it, too,” he said.
As a side note, there is a little-known connection between Swift and the University of Delaware that doesn't involve the NFL, Kelce, or licensing wealth. Her father, Scott Swift, graduated from the College of Business in 1974 and began her career in wealth management after staying in Brown Dormitory. He told the university in 2009 that he heard from many UD alumni as his daughter's career took off.
“Either go to classmates.com or have a daughter who sells 10 million CDs,” he joked to author Erica Cohen.
If Scott Swift attends the Super Bowl, other UD alumni who actually have a direct role in the game include Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who quarterbacked the Blue Hens, and former wide receiver Joe Brey. You will be able to connect with Meyer. He is currently the passing game coordinator for the Chiefs.
