Massachusetts
Who’s the most popular NFL player in Massachusetts? He doesn’t play for the Patriots
Who is the most popular NFL player in Massachusetts? Hint: It’s not a New England Patriot.
According to a new study from FlashPicks, a sports betting website, the most popular NFL player in Massachusetts — as well as in an astonishing 48 other states — is Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
FlashPicks’ study is based on analyzing Google search data in all 50 states this year. It found that Kelce receives a whopping 4.75 million average monthly searches — 3 million more than any other NFL player (his teammate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is second with 1.68 million monthly searches).
While the 35-year-old Kelce has been a very fine player for a long time — he’s a four-time All-Pro — there’s another obvious reason why he’s so popular in search: his yearlong-plus relationship with mega-pop star Taylor Swift. So his personal life has clearly had a positive impact on his commerciality, FlashPicks’ research shows.
There’s only one state in which Kelce is not first in search
The only state in which Kelce is not the undisputed top the No. 1 searched player? Minnesota, whose fans are apparently still brooding over the loss of longtime quarterback Kirk Cousins (110,000 monthly searches), who left the Vikings this past offseason via free agency for the Atlanta Falcons. In neighboring Wisconsin, Kelce is tied for the top spot with former Green Bay Packers (and current New York Jets) quarterback Aaron Rodgers (90,500 monthly searches).
In Massachusetts, Kelce receives 135,000 searches per month, more than double anyone else, according to FlashPicks. Second place is also not a New England Patriot — at least not anymore. It’s former quarterback Mac Jones, who was traded by the Patriots to the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this year and who gets 60,500 searches every month.
Rodgers is tied for third with Mahomes, as each receives an average of 40,500 searches per month in Massachusetts. Finally, in fifth place, is current Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who is searched for 33,100 times every month in Massachusetts.
The rest of the top 10 for Massachusetts searches: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (sixth, 27,100 monthly searches); 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (tie for seventh, 22,200 searches); and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Los Angeles Rams quarterback (and former Patriot) Jimmy Garoppolo and Buffalo Bills quarrterback Josh Allen (tie for 10th, 18,100 monthly searches).