Your English teacher and your gym teacher are swapping notes.
Taylor Swift has sold out hundreds of stadiums in two decades of performing, but the fans coming to swap friendship bracelets have historically not been the ones cheering in those same stands for a touchdown.
Swift’s two-year “Love Story” with the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce has facilitated the merging of two of America’s favorite pastimes: football and being a Swiftie. (A 2024 study showed a 7% rise in NFL viewership overall, with female viewership increasing by 9%.)
Millennial women are paying attention to the Chiefs like never before, hoping to spot their favorite Lover girl in the stands, and football stars are sharing their favorite Swift tracks, with some attending the Eras Tour.
Football players were not always end game for Swift. In her sophomore studio album Fearless (2008), she sang “Well, in your life you’ll do things / Greater than dating the boy on the football team / I didn’t know it at fifteen.”
With her engagement to Kelce, she has clearly changed her tune 10 albums later. Plus, the “cheer captain” of the Kelce fan club is now sitting in a box, not any old bleachers.
Given Swift’s pop culture influence and massive fanbase, some football players, like JJ Watt, were supporters long before Swift debuted her first tunnel fit.
Watt took to Instagram in 2023 to share that he was living the “Swiftie life” while showing off Eras Tour merch.
Swift has joked that she’s aware that her fanbase and Kelce’s are made up of different demographics.
“As we all know, you guys have a lot of male sports fans that listen to your podcast,” she said in an Aug. 13 episode of the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast. “I think we all know that if there’s one thing that male sports fans want to see in their spaces and on their screens — it’s more of me.”
However, with her trending status in the football world, quite a few teams have taken it upon themselves to embrace the crossover.
After The Eras Tour kicked off, several teams — including the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriots — polled their players about their favorite tracks by Swift. While some players confused her lyrics for other pop powerhouses’, others showed off their Swiftie sides and extensive knowledge of her discography.
If you’ve ever wanted to see a football player sing, there is an abundance of clips conveniently packaged together in these team-produced compilations.
From the obvious Swifties, like the Kelce brothers, to the more low-key ones, here’s your guide to current NFL players who have expressed interest in Swift’s discography.
Swift loves the players, and they love the game, but there’s much more to spectate when you know they at least have good taste.
Travis Kelce
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It would feel wrong to start this list with anyone other than Swift’s all-star fiancé Travis Kelce, who has won three Super Bowls as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. If that’s not enough credentials, he first attempted to pursue Swift during an Eras Tour performance in Kansas City. (He was not successful, as he recounted later.)
As her fan in life and in music, he previously said in an episode of the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast that “Blank Space” is a song he will “always listen to forever.” In that same November 2024 episode, he tossed out “Death By a Thousand Cuts” and “The Alchemy” as other favorites. Since the arrival of The Life of a Showgirl, he’s been loving “Opalite” — a track Swift wrote for him.
Mac Jones
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Before the San Francisco 49ers quarterback was tossing golden spirals in California, Mac Jones was showing off his Swiftie knowledge with the New England Patriots. In a 2023 video, Jones declared “The Last Great American Dynasty” and “Karma” as his favorite Swift tracks — though his favorite album is Reputation, “for what it stands for,” he added. Jones also attended an Eras Tour performance at Gillette Stadium with girlfriend Sophie Scott, making them a certified Swiftie couple.
Jared Goff
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Jared Goff loves to “Shake it Off.” The Detroit Lions quarterback has previously shared that his favorite Swift tracks include “Getaway Car,” “The 1,” and “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”. Luckily for Goff, the love is reciprocated. When showing off her football knowledge on the Kelce brothers’ podcast, she name-dropped Goff.
His reaction to her call out? “Very cool, I guess,” Goff told reporters. “Crazy couple of hours last night for me and my phone.”
Aaron Rodgers
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Steelers standout Aaron Rodgers is a confirmed Swiftie if there’s ever been one. When he was with the New York Jets in 2023, he mentioned that he has “too many [favorite songs] to count,” though he listed off a few, including “August” and “The 1,” as well as “anything off Folklore.”
It doesn’t hurt that he’s friends with Swift’s pals Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry, who appeared in her music video for “I Bet You Think About Me.”
Khalen Saunders
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Khalen Saunders has a special connection to Swift. His brother, dancer and choreographer Kameron Saunders worked with Swift for the Eras Tour. He has also said that he loves “Willow” off of Evermore (well, he hummed a few bars of it while trying to think of the title). “That’s my jam,” he declared in a Jacksonville Jaguars video clip. “When you talk about pop culture, that woman is everywhere.”
Zach Gentry
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Watch out Taylor Swift, this tight end might be coming for your microphone on the field. In a YouTube Short, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Zach Gentry sang “she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts” in reference to his favorite song of hers “You Belong With Me” off Fearless.
James Daniels
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James Daniels is a self-proclaimed Swiftie! Although he currently plays with the Miami Dolphins, he told the Steelers when he played for them in 2023 that he considered himself a fan. He went on to share that he enjoys “Blank Space,” her cover of “Last Christmas,” as well as “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).
“I really think that’s a masterpiece,” Daniels said of the 2021 expanded re-record.
Dalton Kincaid
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Friendship bracelets and football go hand-in-hand for Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid. During Tight End University, Kincaid passed out Eras Tour-style friendship bracelets, showing his love for the singer and her fandom. He notoriously leaps at the chance to play Swift’s music on aux, according to his University of Utah teammates.
Tyler Biadasz
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While speaking with PEOPLE about his Campbell’s ad, Washington Commanders center Tyler Biadasz revealed that he’s a fan of Swift’s songs.
“I know that for her talent and what she’s done and how many people she’s impacted around the world, it’s phenomenal to see,” he told PEOPLE.
Colby Sorsdal
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Could he be Mr. Perfectly Fine himself? Detroit Lions offensive tackle Colby Sorsdal shared in a 2023 TikTok that “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is his favorite of Swift’s songs. Like many of his teammates in the video, Sorsdal was a fan of her early work.
