The Kansas City Chiefs have undoubtedly drawn a significant number of new followers from unusual demographics thanks to the association between the franchise and pop superstar Taylor Swift via her relationship with tight end Travis Kelce.
KingCasinoBonus.com analyzed follower counts for all 32 NFL teams at the start of the season versus now. For each team they looked at the combined number of followers on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, TikTok, and Instagram on 7 September 2023 and compared this with 24 January 2024, to determine which teams had the biggest change in followers.
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Kansas City Chiefs social boom thanks to Taylor Swift
According to recent study, the Kansas City Chiefs have had the most increase in their internet following this season, adding 1.75 million more followers since September.
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Kansas City Chiefs have gained 1,751,484 more followers since September 2023, a 20.67% increase in followers. It may not surprise some that the Chiefs have witnessed such a sharp increase in fan base given the frequent headlines made by Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The Philadelphia Eagles, are in second position with a 17.13% rise in followers. With 3.8 million followers on X, the Eagles have their highest following on Elon Musk’s platform. Instagram comes in second with 3.5 million followers for the team from which Travis Kelce’s brother Jason recently retired.
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The Lions are back
The Detroit Lions, who have gained 582,462 fans since September 2023, are in third position with a follower growth of 12.72%. With 5,160,905 followers, the Lions have a larger following on X than they have on TikTok, where they have 2,200,000 fans. The 2023/2024 season proved the Lions best for some time drawing new fans to a team long known for poor management.
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Fifth place goes to the San Francisco 49ers, seeing an increase in followers of 10.86%, equal to an additional 736,635 followers. The 49ers’ most followed platform was found to be Instagram, with a massive 3.19 million followers on the platform, followed by X, with 2.44 million followers.
The remainder of the top ten features the Houston Texans in at sixth place, with a 9.67% increase in followers – equal to 369,395 new followers.
Seventh goes to the Cincinnati Bengals, who, since the start of the season, have seen an increase in followers of 9.32% – an additional 471,480 followers.
The Buffalo Bills take the eighth spot on the list, with an increase of 8.59%, equal to 457,376 new followers across their social media platforms.
Jags lag
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in ninth place, with an increase of 8.02%, or 172,558 new followers across social media platforms. Notably, the smallest increase in the number of new followers, the Jaguars’ smaller starting follower base meant they secured a ranking in the top ten.
Rounding out the list in tenth place are the Los Angeles Chargers, with a 7.61% increase in followers since the start of the season – equal to 256,661 new followers across social media.
Interestingly, across all teams, there was an increase of 11,185,358 million followers since the start of the season, from 172,413,596 followers on 7 September 2023, to 183,598,954 followers on 24 January 2024.
The Miami Dolphins were the only team to lose followers across their social media platforms throughout the period, with a decrease of 328,319 – equal to an 8.07% decline in following.
No suprise that Kansas City Chiefs have exploded thanks to Taylor Swift
A spokesperson for the analysts said: “It is perhaps unsurprising to see that the Chiefs have experienced such a jump in followers this season.
“Outside of the success on the gridiron, Taylor Swift’s romance with tight end Travis Kelce has undeniably played a huge role in boosting the social media presence of the Kansas City Chiefs, by bringing in followers who would otherwise not have shown an interest in the team.”
