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This year’s Super Bowl is anticipated to be the most-watched event in history, and according to reports, it’s largely thanks to Taylor Swift.
Gracie Hunt, daughter of Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Kent, has already confirmed the singer’s attendance at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
She exclusively told PEOPLE, “She’s coming. We’re excited!”
And so is the NFL, which is expected to reach a viewership higher than previous years.
According to USA Today, interest in the Super Bowl LVIII has increased by 169% since rumors of Swift’s attendance at the annual game first came about.
The Grammy winner not only expects to increase overall interest in the game but also impact the interest in commercials.
According to Zeta Global CEO David Steinberg, interest in the game’s commercials has increased by 903% over February 2023.
Additionally, Swift’s relationship with Kelce and her presence at the games have brought in a new demographic of fans for the NFL.
According to The Athletic, viewership for all NFL games has increased by 7% this season.
A significant portion of this increase comes from the 12-17-year-old girls’ demographic, which has seen an increase of 8.1%.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has praised Swift for this increase in viewership, stating that the ‘Bad Blood’ hitmaker knows great entertainment and that her presence at the games is attracting new fans.
“Having the ‘Taylor Swift Effect’ is also a positive,” he said at a pre-Super Bowl press conference, per CNN.
“Obviously, it creates a buzz. It creates another group of young fans, particularly young women that are interested in seeing, ‘Why is she going to this game? Why is she interested in this game?’ Besides Travis, she is a football fan, and I think that’s great for us.”
What’s more, the NFL has also seen a boost in merchandise sales.
According to Market Watch, Swift’s fans have been purchasing tickets to Chiefs games at an increased rate.
It was just in August when Swift and Kelce were first linked, and fans had reportedly tripled their Chiefs-related purchases, the publication reports. And when Swift made her first appearance at a Chiefs game in September, the NFL saw record single-day transactions.
Last year’s game between the Chiefs and Eagles reportedly attracted 121.017 million viewers, the highest viewership in Super Bowl history. But let’s not act like our girl Rihanna’s halftime performance — and pregnancy reveal — didn’t help push those numbers up, okay!
According to Fox News, the Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 was the second most-watched Super Bowl event in U.S. history, with 121 million viewers.
The Patriots went on to beat the Seahawks that year, with Katy Perry performing during the halftime show.
This year, Usher is hitting the stage, and he expects to bring out a couple of his collaborators, including Lil’ Jon and Ludacris.
Reports are even suggesting that Usher is rehearsing for a possible joint performance with Ms. Alicia Keys.
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Only time will tell if Sunday’s game will become the most-watched Super Bowl in history.
But given Swift’s huge fanbase, her relationship with Kelce, and Usher’s impending big moment, fans cannot ignore the possibility.
