Taylor Swift was a big part of the storyline leading up to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, her 13th NFL game since she and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made their relationship public in September.
Sports-gambling websites even accepted bets on how often CBS would show Swift during the broadcast.
By the end of the game, Swift had appeared onscreen for 53 seconds, according to the Houston Chronicle. That airtime was worth about $12.4 million based on the cost to run a 30-second commercial — $7 million — in this year’s Super Bowl.
Since Swift attended the game for free, her appearance was a bargain for the NFL and CBS. Companies and brands that want to partner with a celebrity for added star power have shelled out big bucks in the past.
For example, Verizon reportedly paid Beyoncé $30 million to appear in its 60-second Super Bowl commercial. Other notable and expensive cameos have included Larry David’s 30-second commercial for FTX in 2022 and Ben Affleck’s 30-second ad for Dunkin’ in 2023; the celebrities were paid about $10 million each, sources told CNN.
What’s more, there may have been more people watching this year’s Super Bowl than ever before. Ahead of the game, several industry experts predicted record-breaking viewership, thanks in part to Swift’s popularity.
If this year’s big game does break viewership records — the numbers are expected to be released on Tuesday — at least some of that can be attributed directly to Swift’s popularity.
In a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted last month and published three days before the Super Bowl, 21% of the more than 1,500 respondents indicated somebody in their household planned to watch the Super Bowl because Swift was expected to be there. For respondents between 18 and 34, the number was 41%.
In an interview on CNBC in January, Clark Hunt, the Chiefs’ owner, discussed the growth of the team’s fan base due to Swift, saying the team’s female audience grew “leaps and bounds” after she started attending games.
“It’s been a very interesting, very fun year having the two of them dating, the attention that’s been focused on the Chiefs,” Hunt told CNBC.
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