If you’re an astute follower of the NFL on social media, you might have noticed a surprising training camp trend: starting quarterbacks being photographed or recorded spending time with their significant others at practice.
Recently, Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert and his new fiancée, singer Madison Beer, were spotted getting cozy, which earned Herbert his fair share of ridicule. There were also photos of New York Giants signal caller Jaxson Dart and his girlfriend, model Marisa Ayers, as well as a sighting of Cincinnati Bengals standout Joe Burrow with his rumored girlfriend, Sports Illustrated model Olivia Ponton.
It may seem curious that all of these photo ops were occurring around the same time, but there’s a method to the madness, according to a new report from Front Office Sports.
NFL promoting camp canoodling
On Friday, Front Office Sports‘ Ellyn Briggs reported that the league is emphasizing the WAG interactions as part of its “helmets off” marketing campaign.. The NFL also has plans for “scaling up its female-focused content,” and “will be doing even more in the future.”
“On the league and club level, we’ve engaged our players’ families and loved ones for years,” said Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s SVP of social and influencer marketing, to FOS. “Whether it’s Training Camp, weekly practice or a major event like the Super Bowl, we look for authentic opportunities to highlight our players and the people who are part of their journey … The content is authentic, genuine and relatable, and that’s resonated strongly with women and young fans, who are key growth audiences for the NFL”
Beer, Ayers and Ponton are bona fide celebrities in their own right, particularly Beer, who boasts over 39 million Instagram followers, so it make sense for the NFL to look to tap into that following. In addition to these WAG posts, we’ve also seen the league’s official Instagram account highlight family-friendly moments such as Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence giving his daughter a ride on his shoulders in the rain at camp and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey playing with his daughter over FaceTime.
So, what does this all mean for Taylor Swift?
Swift is by far the most well-known NFL significant other, and her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, which began nearly three years ago, has helped the league expand its fanbase. The “Midnights” singer is not going to be photographed hanging with her new husband at practice for privacy reasons, and we don’t think she’ll be sharing too much social media content from their relationship for the NFL to repost.
However, Swift is a pretty regular presence at Chiefs games, and the league certainly hasn’t shied away from showing her on camera in the past. If the NFL is going to continue emphasizing its appeal to women and girls, undoubtedly they will find new ways to use Swift to help them in that regard.
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