An unlikely love story of a music superstar and a top NFL player continues to be one of the most talked about storylines for the 2023 National Football season.
With two of the best teams in the league set to face off against each other in a rematch of the 2023 Super Bowl, it could be the fans in a press box that dominate the headlines.
What Happened: The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles came into the 2023 NFL season as the betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVIII.
With records of 7-2 and 8-1 respectively, the Chiefs and Eagles are gearing up for a highly anticipated Monday Night Football matchup on ESPN, a unit of The Walt Disney Company DIS, on Monday, Nov. 20.
The matchup will see the Chiefs as the home team and the Eagles the away team, with the Chiefs 4-1 in home games and the Eagles 4-1 in away games.
Another factor to consider in the game and for potential sports bettors is whether singer Taylor Swift will be in attendance to watch her rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Chiefs in the contest.
Swift has attended four Chiefs games during the 2023 NFL season and the Chiefs hold a perfect 4-0 record in those games. Kelce has also performed better in the four contests that Swift attended live, having totals of 69, 60, 124 and 179 receiving yards and two touchdowns across the four games.
Speculation suggests that Swift, currently on tour in Brazil, may attend Monday night’s game, possibly accompanied by her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift. According to E! Online, Swift’s attendance, along with her parents, might lead to a potential meeting with Kelce’s parents.
The matchup will see Travis Kelce and his Chiefs take on his brother Jason Kelce and his Eagles. The Super Bowl meeting in 2023 between the two teams marked the first time in history that brothers faced each other in a Super Bowl.
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Why It's Important: The relationship between Kelce and Swift is contributing to an increase in various areas, notably including a boost in NFL viewership among female audiences.
New research shared by Action Network shows a 37% increase in female NFL viewers since the rumored relationship between Kelce and Swift began. While the surge is likely helped by the relationship, there could be a number of factors that have led to the increase.
Data also points to Kelce ranking higher in Google searches after the romance was first reported. The Chiefs' tight end has also gained over 1.5 million followers on Instagram since the rumored romance started.
Fanatics, which is the official e-commerce partner of the NFL, has witnessed a surge in demand for Kelce items like his jersey. Sales of Kelce items are up 400% taking the Chiefs player from ranking 19th at the start of the 2023 NFL season to rank as a top five player for product demand.
Betting Impact: Benzinga recently reported that Kelce has become more reluctant about disclosing Swift’s attendance at his games due to sportsbooks moving the line and his prop bets.
The Chiefs’ 4-0 record when Swift is present, coupled with Kelce’s improved individual performance in the last four games she attended, is influencing sportsbooks as they attempt to set odds.
At DraftKings Inc DKNG, the Chiefs are currently 2.5 point favorites against the Eagles for the Monday Night Football matchup.
Kelce is the top favorite to score a touchdown with odds of -115. Kelce's receiving yards prop is set at 75.5 yards. Kelce averages over 100 yards in the games Swift attends compared to a much lower average in the other four games the tight end played in.
For Super Bowl LVIII, the Chiefs are tied as the current favorite with the San Francisco 49ers at odds of +500, followed by the Eagles at +550.
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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