Introduction
While the Chiefs could seem like the dominant team in the National Football League (NFL) currently, many fanbases are united against them. After winning the super bowl, some football fans think of the Chiefs as the NFL promoting themselves to another audience. As most people know, Taylor Swift is currently (starting in July 2023) dating Travis Kelce. Travis is a leader within the team, he has been an offensive captain (voted by teammates) during his past few NFL seasons. In one of his recent episodes on New Heights, (A podcast run by the Kelce brothers) Travis says that to win, you should never put yourself in a position where you depend on a referee’s call to win a game (not quoted).
Many viewers think this relationship between him and Taylor is a promotion event where the target audience in this ‘scheme’ is young girls, and by helping the team that she is affiliated with to win, the NFL is boosting the interest in the sport, as well as tickets and merchandising sales. In social media, there are many content creators who are using highlights of gameplay to try and support this conspiracy, such as showing footage of light hits and players who seem like they are trying very hard to miss tackles on Patrick Mahomes. While this theory is rebuked by the NFL, I believe that there will be drama when the playoffs roll around.
About the Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a pro football team, led by head coach Andy Reid, and hailing from Arrowhead Stadium. They are part of the AFC west division, which consists of the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, and the Los Angeles Chargers. They are a four time super bowl winning team, with a total of 6 appearances at the big game. Last year, the Chiefs went 11-6, and won the super bowl against the San Francisco 49ers. They lost to the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, and the Las Vegas Raiders.
The well-known quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs is Patrick Mahomes, with his right hand man, tight end (TE) Travis Kelce are some of the trademark players of the team. If you compare this year’s statistics of game scores against last years, you can see that this year they are winning their games by a smaller margin. This could be due to their game schedule, which changes every year. This year their game schedule has been reported as the “…fifth easiest remaining schedule” by the New York Times. Last year the biggest win margin was 31 points against the Bears, meanwhile this year it is only by 13 points against the Panthers. This difference in a margin could show 2 different ideas; that the Chiefs are struggling as a team, or you could see it in a bright way, that they are hustling during games to win.
About the Modern League
The NFL was originally created in 1920, with more teams being added every so often, but over the years, many teams were relocated, renamed, or disbanded altogether. Nowadays, there are 32 football teams in the NFL, divided into 8 divisions between the AFC (American Football Conference) and the NFC (National Football Conference).
Ownership of teams usually is held by a wealthy individual, or a small group that owns the franchise. You can see this style of ownership in franchises (teams) such as the New England Patriots. A different style of ownership is demonstrated by the Green Bay Packers. This team is owned by the people, with more than 500,000 stakeholders. This leads to the team having a better sense of community and a more devoted audience, but doesn’t effect gameplay. A fact that might be interesting to note with this whole bias issue is the money the NFL makes. According to statista.com the total revenue of the NFL last year was around 20.25 billion dollars.
Analysis and Assumptions
I think that there are many reasons why this event could be occurring. In modern television and entertainment, such as Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, and many other streaming platforms, you can see subtle increases in ads, as well as incorporating them in the actual video or movie. It may seem like a far connection, but with rising costs of filming and streaming these games, the NFL wants more revenue than ever, which could’ve led to these abnormal moments, such as the circumstantial missed tackles, trippings, false starts that aren’t called, and more. This presumed bias during games can remind us of other sports, like boxing or leagues such as WWE. This bias over time could also lead to a decline in viewership, but in media it would boost how much recognition the NFL gets online, even if it isn’t positive. One question to think about whenever you watch one of these games; who is benefiting from this?
Works Cited
Gough, Christina. “National Football League (NFL) – statistics & facts.” Statista, 26 November 2024, https://www.statista.com/topics/963/national-football-league/. Accessed 13 December 2024.
Grathoff, Pete, and Jeffrey Becker. “Travis Kelce disputes notion Chiefs are lucky/get NFL’s help.” Kansas City Star, 4 December 2024, https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article296541854.html. Accessed 13 December 2024.
Lynch, Kyle. “Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl history: Appearances, Wins, MVPs.” NBC Sports, 8 February 2024, https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/news/kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-history-appearances-wins-mvps. Accessed 13 December 2024.
Shanoff, Dan. “NFL strength of schedule takeaways: Which teams have the toughest remaining games?” The New York Times, 7 November 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5903722/2024/11/07/nfl-toughest-schedules-halfway-point-2024-season/. Accessed 13 December 2024.
“Bill Murray on his Iconic Career, Defending SNL and the Worst Line He’s Ever Said | Ep 113.” Youtube, uploaded by Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce, 4 Dec. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5axTjVUkxM&t=710s. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
