Travis Kelce's fellow NFL players have voiced their opinions after he controversially picked up an award most likely because of his relationship with Taylor Swift.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Kelce and pop superstar Swift have become arguably the most famous couple in the United States, with the pair even being described in some reports across the pond as 'America's own royal couple'.
Swift has been spotted supporting her partner at various Chiefs games this season, somehow finding the time to work it into her schedule during the record-breaking Eras tour – which reportedly generated more than $2billion (£1.6bn) in ticket sales alone.
Her impact is clearly being felt in the NFL to the benefit of Kelce.
Advert
He closed out the recent Pro Bowl voting with the most fan votes of any player, with 252,200.
Kelce led the way in fan ballots despite recording career lows (so far this season) in receiving yardage (825), yards per catch (8.5), and receiving touchdowns (3) – suggesting 'Swifties' may have had an impact on the public vote.
But rather than being jealous of his award, his fellow players in the NFL overwhelmingly approve of his relationship with Swift.
Out of 102 NFL players anonymously polled in a new survey conducted by The Athletic, 72.5 per cent said they believed Swift's presence at games and the 'coverage that stemmed from it' is positive for the league.
Only five players viewed the singer's involvement as a negative for the NFL, while 23 were 'somewhere in the middle' on the matter.
"I think it's been positive for the league," one unnamed player said.
"I think that at the end of the day, it's a business and you need to get as many eyes on it as possible. And she brings a lot of eyes, so, you know, if that increases the salary cap, I don’t think anybody's gonna be too mad about that one."
However, others disagreed and felt the coverage of Swift was an unnecessary distraction for one of the biggest sports leagues in the world.
"I feel like she is getting unnecessary coverage," another player said.
"There was the whole NFL opening season video on Twitter and she was featured five times and our quarterback was featured none. That's not even right. She is not the NFL."
Another player viewed Swift's presence at games as both positive and negative.
"It's bringing more attention to the game," he said.
"But I feel like they've been using her face. If she's at a game, they probably show her like six, seven times. People get... sick of it if they keep doing it over and over again. So I think they've got to find a balance."
Meanwhile, one player simply wasn't bothered either way.
"I'll jam to some Taylor Swift, but I don't give a s*** if she's at the game or not," he said.
Topics: Travis Kelce, NFL
Rory O'Callaghan