The massive amount of attention focused on the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift romance is all due to one person, according to Stephen A. Smith.
“Travis Kelce, stop,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday. “Bro, you did this. Not the NFL. If the NFL got 27 million viewers, more power to ’em. What about Taylor Swift, she’s up there promoting her new album during the Super Bowl last year. You being in NFL games, that ain’t helping you? Don’t you got a movie coming out? Didn’t you make $6 billion at a concert? You know what you doing. She’s a marketing genius.”
Smith’s comments come as the Chiefs tight end and global pop star have turned Kansas City games into frenzied events.
Ticket costs have soared, as have sales of Kelce’s jersey — not to mention the uptick in viewership that has come with Swift attending games against the Bears and Jets.
The NFL’s own coverage of the fling has drawn criticism from several corners, including those taking issue with the league’s social media making overt references to Swift.
According to The Post’s Andrew Marchand, the league even asked its broadcasters to air ads for Swift’s new movie for free.
“They are overdoing it a bit for sure, especially my situation,” Kelce told his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, on their “New Heights” podcast this week. “They’re just trying to have fun with it.”
Smith, however, didn’t seem to be buying that.
“Travis Kelce, you were once a part of the reality dating series in which 50 women, one from each state, was pursuing Travis Kelce,” he said, referencing “Catching Kelce,” an E! Network show that ran for eight episodes in 2016. “But here’s the deal, that’s what you did. And then, we didn’t know anything about Taylor Swift. She was going to her concert. She was doing her tour. She was in Kansas City. You wanted to meet up with her. She didn’t want to talk before or after the show to save her voice.
“And you let the world know you got a little bracelet made for her and you wanted to give her your phone number.
“C’mon bro. C’mon now. I mean listen, this is all in fun. Maybe it’s a bit excessive, people trying to capitalize off of it, attention-wise, monetizing it, I get it.
“The instigator in all of this was you, my brother. I ain’t mad at you now. This is not a bad decision. I mean, it has seemed to be very beneficial to you. More power to you. But you did it.”
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