Forget Taylor Swift: The Donna Kelce Commercial Reveals The NFL's Real Power Player

In addition to all of the actual, you know, football, the ongoing NFL season has all of the weekly drama of a reality TV show, thanks to juicy stories like Aaron Rogers' imploded ACL or the steady decline of Bill Belichick's reign. Those stories, however, have paled in comparison to the league's newest star: Taylor Swift.

Thanks to a rumored relationship between Swift and Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, the pop star has become entangled with the NFL. In early September, she was spotted at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri to watch Kelce play against the Chicago Bears. A week later, she traveled to East Rutherford, New Jersey to watch him duke it out against the New York Jets. 

The result is a fascinating confluence of seemingly disparate fanbases: Swifties and football fans. The NFL, for its part, is leaning into it, calling attention to Swift's game day attendance and even airing ads for her box-office hit "The Eras Tour" during football games.

In the lead-up to the Thursday Night Football showdown between the Chiefs and the Broncos, Prime Video aired a commercial that tongue-in-cheekily referenced the NFL's Swift fixation. In the ad, a number of pundits, podcasters, and TikTokkers speak reverently about a certain celeb, calling her "America's sweetheart" and "the reason that Travis even reached superstardom." The twist? They're talking about Kelce's mother, Donna Kelce.

As the mother to both Travis and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, Donna Kelce is a proud NFL mom, typically seen donning a half-Chiefs, half-Eagles jersey. As such, she's glided effortlessly into semi-celebrity. "Of course, I'm here," she says at the end of the Thursday Night Football ad, confirming her much-anticipated presence at the Chiefs vs. Broncos game. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Love you, Travie. Go Chiefs!"

Even before Taylor mania hit the NFL, Donna was no stranger to NFL commercials. In September, she was featured in the NFL 2023 Kickoff ad campaign, appearing in a spot titled "The Last Page." As Keegan-Michael Key fields pitches to make the upcoming season as exciting as possible, she offers a romantic angle. "What if that Jimmy Garoppolo character fell in love with my character?" she asks, referencing the handsome Las Vegas Raiders quarterback. Travis chimes in to add, "That's a good-looking guy right there, mom, I see where you're going," while Jason can only muster a surprised, "Whoa." Donna also cropped up in Travis' ad for Pfizer.

Donna is now more public-facing than ever, as she's been spotted next to Taylor Swift at two separate Chiefs games so far this season. At another game, Swift found some other high-profile friends to sit with, including a "Deadpool 3" reunion of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Swift's sudden interest in football may have her devoted stans suddenly becoming experts on the AFC West, but Donna is charmingly immune to Swift's celebrity. "It's just another thing that's amped up my life," Donna told TODAY. And as for the experience of sharing a box with Swift? "It was okay," Kelce said.