The NFL has slowed down its gears of capitalism for no one, nor any holiday.
Football has become inextricably tied to Thanksgiving, woven into the fabric of the holiday’s tradition alongside the turkey and grandma’s pumpkin pie.
Likewise, the NFL nearly upstaged Santa Claus’ Christmas Eve flight in 2023, has counterprogrammed the NBA on Christmas day for several seasons, and will continue to do so with Netflix exclusive broadcasts this December.
Beyond going back to December on one of the most anticipated holidays, the NFL was forced to consider potentially the only event more dominant over American pop culture than the league itself when building its schedule; Taylor Swift.
When league executives put together the 2024 schedule, the NFL needed to consider Swift’s United States tour dates for her award-winning The Eras Tour.
NFL's Mike North said the league had to account for Taylor Swift in its scheduling, with her having NFL stadium dates in Miami, New Orleans and Indy. He said no consideration was made to have Chiefs at Bills close to her concert date in Toronto, despite conspiracy theories.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) May 16, 2024
Subsequently, in addition to needing to schedule around the dates that Swift has booked NFL stadiums for during the upcoming season, Kansas City’s schedule — as it turns out, will allow Swift to attend 14 of her boyfriend, All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce’s games this upcoming season.
Back in February, Swift went the extra mile, flying from her concert in Tokyo to make it to Las Vegas in time to watch Kelce and the Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl and was on the field when they hoisted the Lombardi afterward.
As it turns out, Swift might not even need a private jet to be able to take in Kansas City’s clash against the Bills in Week 11.
Swift, and her relationship with Kelce, took center stage during the 2023 season and it appears this fall will have an encore in store.
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