Report: NFL Asks Networks to Air Taylor Swift Movie Ads for Free amid Kelce Rumors

Part of the NFL leaning into the Taylor Swift phenomenon reportedly included the league asking its broadcasting partners to air advertisements for the pop star's upcoming movie for free.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, the NFL asked NBC, ESPN, Fox and CBS to air advertisements for the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie that will be released on Oct. 13.

While Fox and CBS did not air the promotion, NBC and ESPN did during their pregame shows. NBC also aired a Swift commercial during the Sunday Night Football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets, which the musician attended to presumably support her relationship with Travis Kelce.

NFL fans have seen Swift everywhere the past two weeks.

Fox Sports consistently cut to her suite when she was in attendance for Kansas City's Week 3 game against the Chicago Bears. They did the same during the game between the Chiefs and Jets when she was joined by celebrities such as Blake Lively, Sophie Turner, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

"The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we've leaned into in real time, as it's an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we've seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport," the NFL—which even changed its photo banner on X, the social media website previously known as Twitter, to one of the singer—said in a statement, per Variety.

Some might say the league has been overdoing it some.

Even Kelce himself might believe that.

"I think it's fun when they show who all is at the game," Kelce said (1:07:50 mark) on his New Heights podcast with his brother, Jason, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment. "I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, it brings a little bit more to what you're watching. But at the same time, I think—they're overdoing it a little bit, for sure. Especially my situation. I think they're just trying to have fun with it."

Yet it seems to be working, as the game between the Chiefs and Jets drew an average audience of 27 million viewers, which was the highest-watched Sunday show since Super Bowl LVII.

That means plenty of viewers saw the advertisement for Swift's movie as well.