Celebrity Couples
Kansas City Chiefs President Reveals Why Taylor Swift Isn’t Shown on the Jumbotron During Home Games
There’s a reason why Taylor Swift never appears on the jumbotron during a Kansas City Chiefs home game.
On Monday, December 1, franchise president Mark Donavan opened up on the Up and Adams Show about the early days of Travis Kelce’s relationship with the pop star, 35, and the lengths Arrowhead Stadium went to maintain their privacy.
“I told Travis, ‘Look, we are going to treat you and your relationship with the same respect that we treat any other player or coach’s relationship,’” Donavan recalled of his conversation with the tight end, 36. “It’s a relationship. We’re not going to monetize it. We’re not going to go out there and go crazy.”
Others did.
“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in,” Swift said in her 2023 Time Person of the Year profile. “There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once.”
Although she’s typically only shown for less than 25 seconds during those three-hour-plus broadcasts, per the New York Times, it’s enough to “[piss] off a few dads, Brads, and Chads,” as the “Shake It Off” singer likes to call NFL fans who complain about seeing her on their TV screens.
“For a couple of years, all those shots you see of Taylor in the stadium — he scores a touchdown, he makes a catch, it goes to Taylor, especially the first year,” Donavan noted during his Up and Adams appearance. “We never showed Taylor on our big boards in our stadium, never. It was respectful. We’re not going to do that.”
They don’t play any of her songs when she’s at Arrowhead Stadium either, Donavan revealed, another gesture seemingly appreciated by Kelce.
“Travis, to his credit, is all about team and he’s all about the guys and he’s all about being part of a team and not being separate,” shared the NFL exec. “And he said, ‘That separates me … When we’re playing a game. When we’re in that stadium, it’s about us. And I want it to be about us.”
