Topline
CBS analyst and former star quarterback Tony Romo referred to pop star Taylor Swift as the wife of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce during the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game on Monday, marking the second time Romo has made the mistake, drawing mockery from Swift fans as the newly minted billionaire singer continues to take the NFL by storm.
Taylor Swift looks on during a game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA … [+]
Key Facts
When describing Kelce’s 900th career reception, and after the cameras cut to Swift cheering on Kelce, Romo said: “And his wife loves it, I mean, girlfriend”—either catching himself in the middle of a mistake, or making a tongue-in-cheek callback to a similar error by Romo that led to social media flak two weeks ago.
After Romo’s mistake during Monday’s game, play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz laughed and told Romo: “You’ve been down that road with that before.”
Romo first referred to Swift as Kelce’s wife during the Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills game on Dec. 10, saying “As you see Kelce’s wife, Taylor Swift, in the audience…I’m sorry, girlfriend,” when commenting on a Kelce catch.
Swifties online were quick to comment on Romo’s mistake—both on Dec. 10 and Christmas—with one tweeting Monday afternoon that Romo must “be manifesting something” because of the second slip up, and another posting that if he makes the mistake again, “he’ll have to deal with the Swifties and we can’t save him after that.”
Big Number
Seven. That’s how many Chiefs games the Eras Tour superstar has been to since she began dating Kelce earlier this year.
What To Watch For
Viewership data on Monday’s Chiefs game. Swift also attended the game with her parents and brother in tow, and her attendance at past Chiefs games have led to an increase in viewership. The Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders game on CBS is one of three NFL games on Monday—only the second triple-header the league has ever played on Christmas—joining the New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles on Fox and the Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers on ABC and ESPN.
Forbes Valuation
$1.1 billion. That’s how much we estimate Swift is worth. She was No. 34 on Forbes’ list of America’s Self-Made Women in 2023, and No. 5 on Forbes’ list of Power Women.
Key Background
Kelce and Swift have been dating for months, and she attended her first Kansas City Chiefs games on Sept. 24. Since then, Swift fans have appeared to boost ticket sales—StubHub saw a 175% increase in demand for tickets to the Oct. 1 game as fans speculated Swift would attend—and jersey sales for Kelce, which increased 400% after the September appearance, according to the NFL. Swift and Kelce have both addressed the relationship and its impact on the NFL since it went public, with the pop star telling Time magazine she goes to the games “to support Travis,” adding she doesn’t care if she’s shown on screen “too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.” Kelce has spoken highly of Swift and praised the support she is getting from many NFL fans, saying on a recent episode of his podcast that “you don’t see an entire home team fan base go insane for somebody wearing the opposite team’s colors” the way Gillette Stadium did when Swift was there supporting him against the home-team New England Patriots.
Further Reading
