ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Did the NFL cut the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift a break when they recently released the 2024 schedule?
Swift, as you might have heard, is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and appeared at NFL stadiums across the country to watch her boyfriend's games last season. Kansas City went 10-3 during games she attended, which included the Super Bowl back in February.
So some eyebrows were raised when it was announced that the Chiefs would play in Orchard Park, against the Buffalo Bills, on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Why would that be a big deal? Swift happens to have a run of six concerts in Toronto, starting with three in the days before that Week 11 game (Nov. 14-16), and continuing the next week (Nov. 21-23).
Was that planned, or just a coincidence?
"I saw a lot of conspiracy theorists talking about Kansas City at Buffalo middle of the season, right when Taylor’s playing Toronto. That one definitely did not hit our radar screen," Mike North, the NFL's vice president for broadcast planning, told the Associated Press on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the NFL schedule was released.
She won't be at every Chiefs game this season. There are three dates during the regular season where both Swift and Kelce will be working.
Swift has concerts on Oct. 20 in Miami, Oct. 27 in New Orleans, and Dec. 8 in Vancouver. The Chiefs have road games at the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders, plus a home date with the Los Angeles Chargers, on those days.
The NFL schedule release annually draws an immediate response across the league.
Fans wait to see which games they need to circle on the calendar. Analysts are quick to break down quirks and pitfalls that could come for each team. That's not to mention a curiosity about all of the prime-time games.
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