Prices for the “Sunday Night Football” game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets have risen after rumors surfaced that pop superstar Taylor Swift would be attending.
Unnamed sources told Front Office Sports that Ms. Swift will be at the game, and even the possibility of that happening is enough to juice fan interest.
On one ticketing marketplace, TickPick, prices jumped more than 40% from $83 to $119. TickPick also notched its highest single-day sales number for Chiefs tickets this season thanks to the rumors, the site told CNN.
On Ticketmaster, the lowest price for two tickets including fees to the Chiefs-Jets game was $169.55 on Wednesday, but soared to $289.35 on Thursday after the rumors of Ms. Swift’s attendance came out, according to local New Jersey newspaper The Record.
Ms. Swift, who has been unofficially linked romantically to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, attended the Chiefs’ previous game at home in Kansas City against the Chicago Bears, sitting in a box at the game with Mr. Kelce’s mother, Donna.
This Sunday’s contest is a road game for the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
StubHub told CNN that, even before the rumors of her appearance this Sunday, sales for the game had doubled following her showing up at Bears-Chiefs games. Sales of Mr. Kelce’s No. 87 jersey jumped during and after that game, as did his social media following.
The Bears-Chiefs game was also the most-watched telecast in America last week, with it ranking first in viewers for girls ages 12-17 and women ages 18-49, according to Fox Sports, which aired the game.
In addition to the possible appearance of Ms. Swift, injured Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, lost for the season to an Achilles injury four plays into the team’s first game, could also show up if cleared by doctors, according to ESPN Jets beat writer Rich Cimini.
In his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Mr. Rodgers had hinted at the possibility, saying “You never know who you’re going to see at the game.”
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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