NFL WAG Kelly Stafford has revealed how Taylor Swift inspired her to launch a new segment on her “The Morning After” podcast.
“The ‘Timeout’ is literally thanks to Taylor Swift because she’s gotten a lot of women into football,” Kelly, 35, told Jana Kramer on her “Whine Down” podcast on Sunday, November 17.
In September, the internet personality — who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford — launched a second weekly episode of her “The Morning After” podcast, dubbed “Timeout,” which focuses on football and teaching fans the basics of the sport.
Taylor, 34, began attending Kansas City Chiefs games in September 2023 when she went public with boyfriend Travis Kelce, and she ended up bringing a new wave of fans to football. Kelly admitted that as she has taught these fans the basics of the game on her podcast, she is also learning more about it.
“As I’m doing this, I’m realizing how much I don’t know,” she said. “It’s a lot tougher than I thought to know the ins and outs. I know the basics, which helps me watch it. But that’s what ‘Timeout’ is. It’s basically learning the basics so people can enjoy it more when they’re watching it with their significant others.”
Kelly has made headlines for speaking out about Taylor’s attendance at Chiefs games and the media attention surrounding her appearances in the past. Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, the registered nurse lamented that she didn’t “want to see another four months of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce coverage.” However, she later admitted that her comment was rooted in envy.
“I feel like there is just this … cloud hanging over with this Taylor Swift thing,” Kelly told her “The Morning After” cohost Hank Winchester on the October 31 episode. “Now, I have never once said I didn’t like Taylor Swift — ever.”
She continued, “But I will say I kind of got tired of the Chiefs’ coverage of it — actually the NFL’s coverage — of this budding relationship last year. And, can she do anything about that? No, she can’t.”
After Taylor’s first appearance at Arrowhead Stadium on September 24, 2023, drew in 24.3 million viewers, the NFL began using the “Cruel Summer” hitmaker in promos, as well as shots of Travis, 35, looking up at his girlfriend in the VIP box. Taylor was also prominently highlighted by cameras at the games she attended.
“It was a good business decision for the NFL, but I almost felt like it was outshining the games. And that’s what bothered me,” Kelly, who later dressed as Taylor alongside her husband as Travis for Halloween, explained. “I was a little jealous of the fact that they were getting all this attention and all of a sudden the football game was the sideshow. So yeah, maybe I let jealousy get the best of me.”
She added, “I watched my husband work his ass off and all of these guys who work for the league work their asses off and all of a sudden they’re like the sideshow.”
Kelly, who shares four daughters with Matthew, did admit that the upside to Taylor’s presence at the games was the influence it had on little girls watching football.
“I am so thankful for her in a lot of ways because there are so many more women watching, there are little girls watching with their dads and I do think it definitely makes my girls love football more knowing that she’s adjacent to it,” she said. “I honestly think my girls are prouder of their dad because he’s playing the sport that Taylor Swift loves.”
Taylor addressed the criticism surrounding her NFL appearances in her Person of the Year interview with Time in December 2023.
“I’m just there to support Travis,” she told the outlet. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
