One of the biggest stories of this year’s Super Bowl, which will crown a National Football League (NFL) champion, will be the row of Taylor Swift, 35, the “Queen of Pop. Swift is a singer with such a large social and economic impact that the term “Swiftonomics” has been coined. Her “The Eras” tour, which started in March last year and will run through December, has already generated $1.04 billion (about $1.38 trillion) in revenue from 60 shows. It’s the first time a singer’s tour has ever grossed more than $1 billion. Swift’s tour generates $5 billion in economies of scale in the U.S., according to market analyst firm QuantumPro.
Swift’s interest in the Super Bowl is largely due to the fact that his significant other is playing in the game. The two teams competing for the Super Bowl are the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, with Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, 35, openly dating Swift.
Kelce plays tight end, catching passes or blocking for his teammates, depending on the game plan. He’s caught more passes (156) in the playoffs than any other player in history, making him one of the NFL’s biggest superstars. Kelce and Swift began dating publicly last September, and Swift has already traveled to more than a dozen games this season to support her boyfriend.
On Jan. 29, when the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens to clinch a Super Bowl berth, Swift came down to the field after the game and hugged Kelce. The NFL and the Chiefs are enjoying the “Swift Effect,” according to the organization. The NFL reportedly had its highest female viewership this season since it began tracking in 2000, and the “Swift Effect” has boosted the NFL and Chiefs brand value by $330 million.
At issue is Swift’s tour schedule. The Super Bowl kicks off at 3:30 p.m. local time on Jan. 11 (8:30 a.m. ET on Jan. 12) in Las Vegas, and Swift will perform at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on Jan. 7-10. The New York Times calculated how Swift would have to organize her schedule to see the Super Bowl in person, given the time difference. “The 17-hour time difference is a blessing in disguise for Swift,” it says. “If she finishes her show at the Tokyo Dome at 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, she can take a private flight from Haneda Airport, a 25-minute drive away, and arrive in Las Vegas on the afternoon of Oct. 10, a day before the game, after a 10-and-a-half-hour flight.
Currently, there are no slots (the right to take off and land at certain times) available at the Las Vegas airport for Swift’s plane at that time, so another option is to fly to LA and then drive (5 hours).” USA Today, CNN, and others have also reported on Swift’s Super Bowl attendance.