Ravens’ John Harbaugh has a message for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

The Baltimore Ravens are one of the AFC favorites to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. One of the teams currently standing in the way of the Ravens who have won the AFC the last two seasons are the Kansas City Chiefs led by the tandem of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke with US Magazine and sent a joking message to TE Kelce and his superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift. Harbaugh joked to American magazine’s Daniel Trainor: “I hope they get married…I hope they have lots of kids.” Hell, maybe he’ll be getting ready to retire here soon to continue this family aspect of his life.

Kelce is one of the most dominant TEs to ever play in the NFL and has been Mahomes’ favorite target for most of his career. Kelce and Swift began a high-profile romance during the 2023 season that took the league by storm.

Trainor wrote: “Once Swift, 34, started dating Kansas City Chiefs star Kelce, also 34, in the summer of 2023, Harbaugh couldn’t help but wondering if this could hasten the decorated tight end’s exit from the league, giving the coach and his team one less headache to worry about.

The Chiefs have won the last two Super Bowls and Kelce has been a big reason for their dominance in both seasons.

Harbaugh was clearly joking and, according to Trainor, he later wished the couple well and said he supported them.

---

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Romance Benefited the NFL

While not all fans were thrilled with Swift’s attention to NFL Sundays and what seemed like constant shots of the star, the NFL was certainly happy with the financial impact created.

The Swifties brought with them more eyes, jersey sales, views and what appeared to be a new audience that the NFL was trying to exploit. Front Office Sports’ Margaret Fleming analyzed the popstar’s estimated economic impact.

Fleming wrote: “Swift has generated an equivalent brand value of $331.5 million for the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL, said Apex Marketing Group. Sports at reception.”

Matt Johnson of “Sportsnaut” looked at how much the NFL made in 2023-2024 and wrote: “The NFL’s revenue over the 2023-2024 period is estimated to have approached $20 billion.” »

The $331.5 million may seem small compared to total revenue, but that means Swift alone was worth about 2%.

Fleming wrote: “This figure, calculated on January 22, comes from print, digital, radio, TV, highlights and social media. » The Swifties seemed to take the league by storm as “Travis Kelce jersey sales exploded, increasing about 400 percent after Swift’s first appearance,” Fleming explained.

---

The leaders still stand in the way of the crows

The Ravens’ 2023 season ended in the AFC Conference Championship by Kelce and the Chiefs as they lost 17-10.

Baltimore was the No. 1 seed and had home-court advantage at M&T Bank Stadium, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the defending champion.

Kelce proved too much for the Ravens defense to handle, as the TE had 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown (most in the first half).

Baltimore’s defense gave up all 17 points in the first half of the game before Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton stepped in to close the door defensively. Unfortunately, the Ravens’ offense was also stymied for most of the game as key turnovers kept them from achieving their goal.

Heading into 2024, both teams have made key moves to retain key players like DT’s Justin Madubuike and Chris Jones. The Ravens brought in RB Derrick Henry to improve their running game in hopes of meeting the Chiefs again.

If the Ravens hope to overcome the obstacle and make the Super Bowl, they may have to defeat the defending champions.