Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has seen with his own eyes that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s romance is the real deal.
“Well, first of all, we’re so happy for Travis Kelce and Taylor in their relationship. I’ve had a chance to meet her at one of the many games that she’s attended this year,” Hunt, 58, gushed during a recent appearance on Mad Money on CNBC. “She’s just as sweet as she can be. I also got to see her play here [at our Arrowhead Stadium] twice this past summer and what an incredible performer. I mean, just one of the most incredible artists of our time.”
Swift and Chiefs tight end Kelce, both 34, have been dating since summer 2023. They took their romance public the following September when she attended her first Chiefs game. Clad in team gear, Swift cheered on Kelce from a private box next to his mother, Donna. The Grammy winner has since been a fixture at his regular season and playoff games.
“It’s been a very interesting, very fun year having the two of them dating,” Hunt added to CNBC. “The attention that’s been focused on the Chiefs, our female audience has grown leaps and bounds. That’s right, it was purely organic.”
He continued, “You know, when they were just starting off dating, there were a lot of people saying, ‘Oh, it’s a marketing stunt,’ but no, it’s very real … and the most important thing is we’re happy for the two of them.”
Swift first messaged Kelce in July 2023 after a mystery “Cupid” sent her a link to his “New Heights” podcast episode earlier that month. At the time, Kelce said he felt “butthurt” that he didn’t get to meet Swift and exchange phone numbers after he attended her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.
“She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out,” Kelce later recalled in a November 2023 interview with .WSJ Magazine. “I’ve never been a man of words. Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f—ing mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.”
Both Swift and Kelce have been vocal about wanting to support one another, whether he attends her Eras concerts or she hits up a Chiefs game.
Swift’s game day appearances, however, have sparked backlash from “dads, Brads and Chads” — a phrase coined by Swift in a December 2023 TIME cover story — claiming that the NFL has overdone its media coverage of her. Hunt and many other pro football stars, meanwhile, do not have a problem with it — and have publicly praised the pop star for bringing in new viewers to the sport.
“I keep seeing clips of her high-fiving people, so I think it’s been a positive. It’s certainly been a positive for the league,” Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, January 17. “I think there [have] been a lot of new football fans that five months ago probably weren’t following pro football, but now they are. I think that’s a win for everybody involved and hopefully, she’s around the game for a long time.”
