There’s no denying that Taylor Swift has changed the face of football — or its fandom at least. Ever since the pop megastar appeared at a Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023 to root on her new beau, tight end Travis Kelce, NFL viewership among young women has skyrocketed. Games where Miss Americana is spotted regularly spike in all female demographics, from teens to college age to the over-35 set, per Nielsen and NBC ratings. With the power couple announcing their engagement in August, it’s likely the influx of new football fans will only grow — and the NFL ecosystem is shifting to serve this passionate female base. Here’s how football is enticing more women to tune in (and spend money).
Taking the Field
From refs to scouts to iPad-toting assistants, on-field jobs are increasingly being filled by women. This season, 358 women hold coaching and football operations jobs in the league, up from just 92 in 2020. “The goal is normalization and balance,” Sam Rapoport, NFL diversity and inclusion consultant and creator of NFL Women’s Forum, says. “I’m not a big proponent for ‘The future is female.’ I think the future is balanced.” This is in line with the increased interest the league is seeing from women: Figures from a 2025 SSRS Sports Poll show that 47% of the U.S. NFL fan base is female, and women represent 40% of the league’s international growth.
Ads Aren’t Just for Men
Yes, the lion’s share of ads running during NFL games still sell light beer, sports betting and junk food. But eagle-eyed viewers noticed some spots during Week 1 that bucked bro-centric convention. Pampers was an advertiser during the first week of Sunday games, targeting the women viewers who invariably do the majority of shopping for babies. Hyundai also debuted a Palisade ad starring Parker Posey during the season’s first game, banking on the “White Lotus” star’s charisma as opposed to football-ad staples like retired athletes and comedians. “When you think of families, they influence about 80% of the car-buying decisions,” Kate Fabian, marketing communications director for Hyundai Motor America, says. “So it’s important for us to connect with women. The NFL is the biggest cultural stage in many aspects. It’s where families and communities come together.”
A New Voice
Kate Scott made NFL history as the first woman to call a regular-season game for Westwood One, the official radio partner of the league, on Sept. 28. “It’s an incredible honor. I grew up listening to football on the radio with my dad,” Scott says. And the giant step for representation isn’t lost on her.
“I carry so many women that I’ve met over the years with me when I’m in a broadcast booth, because I know that so many women before me would have loved to do this, but it was too soon,” she says. “They were ahead of their time.”
And the response from men? “Some are very honest and tell me, ‘I hated you at first, but my daughter is paying a lot more attention to the sport now,’” Scott says. “There’s going to always be people who doubt that you can do it simply because you are a woman,” she adds. “So work hard and prove them wrong.”
Fashion Meets Fan Base
Merchandise isn’t just the ultimate expression of team loyalty but also big business, bringing in billions of dollars for the NFL. For some female fans, however, the styles for women leave something to be desired.
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“Everything I have, I purchased from the men’s section, because I didn’t wear the type of stuff they had for women,” says Zara Terez Tisch, whose clothing line Terez aims to move sports apparel in a different direction. Tisch is now partnering with the NFL to produce officially licensed gear. The league’s collaboration with Off Season also came about organically: Co-founder Kristin Juszczyk was making custom game day apparel for players’ wives, then created a jacket for Swift — and the rest is history.
“I never knew I wanted to even be in the sports category, but our mission has always been about bringing people together,” Tisch says. “In the male-dominated industries, we need to celebrate the women behind the athletes, the women at home, the women in the field and the women on the team.”
From Variety US