NEED TO KNOW
- Taylor Swift was “very supportive” of the new docuseries about the Kansas City Chiefs — featuring boyfriend Travis Kelce
- Director Kristen Lappas said the pop star showed support for the ESPN project, which chronicles the Chiefs’ legacy and 2024 season
- “Now you see her in the way that I think is how she wanted to be seen, which is as a fan of the community,” Chiefs CMO and Foolish Club Studios COO Lara Krug added
Taylor Swift is a Kansas City Chiefs supporter through and through.
The pop star, 35, was “very supportive” of the football franchise’s recent ESPN docuseries, The Kingdom, director Kristen Lappas said.
The six-part project, which follows the football dynasty, features Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce — with the first episode specifically following the tight end, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, defensive tackle Chris Jones and head coach Andy Reid, as they make their way around SubTropolis, an underground cave preserving items from the NFL team’s extensive history.
As Lappas explained to reporters on Saturday, Aug. 23, Swift is also featured in the project — having “approved all of her image and likeness.”
However, those behind the series did not pursue an interview. Chiefs CMO and Foolish Club Studios COO Lara Krug explained that the “point was always about the Chiefs and the family,” with Swift being a “big fan” herself.
“Now you see her in the way that I think is how she wanted to be seen, which is as a fan of the community,” Krug said.
The Kingdom — produced by Words + Pictures in association with Skydance Sports, NFL Films, 2PM Productions and Foolish Club Studios — chronicles the Chiefs’ 2024 season and also focuses on the franchise’s place in NFL history.
Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt called it a “tribute to everyone who has helped shape” the franchise since its founding in 1959.
Swift’s Chiefs fandom has been on full display since she and Kelce, 35, were first linked in 2023 — from Super Bowl appearances to her red-gold-and-white game day attire, as well as her contributions to what the team’s owner has called “pretty significant” fan growth in recent years.
Back in February, team owner Hunt, 60, told CNBC Sports that “you definitely have to give Taylor a little bit of credit” for what he estimated to be a “30% growth in our fan base.”
He added that supporters “took a big leap forward last year” overall, “particularly with female [fans] — specifically with young female fans,” given the 2024-2025 football season broke viewership records.
“And I think Taylor’s a little bit a part of that,” he Hunt further explained.
In the docuseries, both Mahomes, 29, and defensive tackle Chris Jones recalled the feeling of seeing Swift appear at an NFL game for the first time during the 2023 season that September.
“We were in the locker room like, ‘Taylor Swift’s here.’ ‘Taylor Swift? For real? With Travis? Oh my God!’ ” Jones, 31, said in a clip from the series. “We were like, ‘Oh my God! Travis pulled Taylor Swift.’ ”
Mahomes added that Kelce already gave him a heads-up about Swift’s attendance, and many “definitely felt the buzz” at Arrowhead Stadium. “You could see people in the stadium gravitating to where she was at. At the same time, we had business to handle,” he said.
As for the current happenings in Chiefs world, Kelce got back into the swing of things during a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Geha Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Friday, Aug. 22.
It marked his first appearance in a game during the 2025 preseason.
All episodes of The Kingdom are currently available to stream on ESPN+.
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