NFL star has emerged a winner on social media, amid reports that he has .
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end and the “You Belong With Me” hitmaker, both 33, have been the subject of dating rumors in recent days, after video clips emerged online of alongside the sportsman’s mother.
Kelce addressed the speculation in the latest installment of his podcast, New Heights, which was released on Wednesday. Referencing Swift’s appearance at his game on Sunday, Kelce said: “Shout out to Taylor for pulling up.
“I just thought how it was awesome how everybody in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her,” and fellow podcast host Jason Kelce, of the Philadelphia Eagles.
“The friends and family, she looked amazing, everybody was talking about her in great light, and on top of that the day went perfect for Chiefs fans of course,” Travis Kelce added, in reference to his team’s 41-10 victory over the .
![Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift](https://i0.wp.com/regalrumination.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1704583385_878_travis-kelce-taylor-swift.jpg?resize=1200%2C800)
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images;/Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic/Getty Images
The brothers also joked about how Chiefs head coach Andy Reid may have played matchmaker as he knew the Swift family beforehand. “Who knew Cupid was so big,” Travis Kelce quipped.
As fans continue to share their takes on the reported romantic pairing across social media, Travis Kelce has seen a notable uptick in his popularity on several platforms in the days since speculation heightened.
According to data provided by Social Blade, Travis Kelce had seen his follower count on go up in the tens of thousands in the days leading up to his Sunday football game (with a peak of 32,189 added to his tally on September 18).
Those numbers shifted dramatically the day after the game, when the football player gained 252,863 followers over a span of 24 hours, followed by 230,561 the next day. His follower count on the platform currently stands at over 3 million.
Over on X, formerly , the sports star’s followers had largely gone up in increments of hundreds, save for a few days where it entered the low thousands.
On September 25, the day after Swift was spotted at his game, the followers went up by 7,438 in 24 hours. The next day, an extra 8,431 hit the follow button. Hours into Wednesday, 4,728 had already followed Travis Kelce, bringing his total up to almost 970,000 at press time.
Travis Kelce’s gains saw additions of followers in the thousands on each day before Sunday’s game, with a peak boost of 17,800 on September 18. One week later, he saw a gain of 184,600 for one day, followed by 182,000. As Wednesday progresses, he has already picked up another 100,000 followers at press time, bringing his current tally on the platform to almost 640,000.
If that wasn’t enough to convince of Swift’s prowess, a spokesperson for Fanatics, the ‘s official e-commerce partner, said it saw a “400 percent spike” in sales of Travis Kelce’s jersey after the musician’s appearance at his game.
During the latest episode of his podcast, Travis Kelce was told by his brother about the “skyrocketing” sales of his jersey, prompting him to respond: “Damn! Sounds like the Swifties are also part of Chiefs Kingdom.”
Speaking of the New Heights podcast, it currently sits atop ‘s podcast charts in the U.S., comfortably beating offerings by News and The New York Times, among others.
Entrepreneur and investor Joe Pompliano summed up the boost to Travis Kelce’s already-sizable fortune on Monday, when he wrote on X: “Travis Kelce has had a busy 24 hours: • 7 catches for 69 yards and a TD • Gained 300,000+ social media followers • +400% increase in merchandise sales • Top 5 selling jersey in the NFL.”
Pointing his finger in one direction, the businessman rounded out his post by acknowledging that it was “the effect.”