Sports

Taylor Swift’s presence at NFL games is positive for the league, players say in poll

Published

2 years ago

October 2, 2024

Taylor Swift’s presence at NFL games is positive for the league, players say in poll

Taylor Swift has drawn tons of commentary from NFL fans — including both praise and ire — since she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce last year and became a fixture in the stands. But fans aren’t the only ones with opinions on Swift’s presence at games.

The vast majority of players included in The Athletic’s 2024 anonymous NFL player poll — 72.5 percent to be exact — said they viewed the pop star’s interest in the game (and the coverage that stemmed from it) as positive for the league. Only 4.9 percent of players polled viewed it as a negative, and 22.5 percent viewed it as neither negative nor positive.

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The Swift-NFL partnership was one of the many subjects The Athletic’s beat writers surveyed players about to include in this year’s poll, with 102 votes cast on the topic. Players were granted anonymity to speak freely about matters impacting the league.

“I think it’s been positive for the league,” one player said. “I think that at the end of the day, it’s a business and you need to get as many eyes on it as possible. And she brings a lot of eyes, so, you know, if that increases the salary cap, I don’t think anybody’s gonna be too mad about that one.”

Another player who voted “positive” noted that “a lot of Swifties who don’t watch football are now watching it.”

“Bringing more people to the game of football is always good,” that player said.

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“More fans, broader horizon,” said another player in the “positive” vote camp. “She has a worldwide fan base. Non-football fans will become fans or at least viewers in the United States.”

Conversely, players who highlighted the “negative” elements suggested it distracted viewers from the sport.

“I feel like she is getting unnecessary coverage,” said one player who voted for the “negative” side. “There was the whole NFL opening season video on Twitter and she was featured five times and our quarterback was featured none. That’s not even right. She is not the NFL.”

FOOTBALL IS BACK THIS WEEK 🏈 🚨 pic.twitter.com/YVR8kbZnfm
— NFL (@NFL) September 2, 2024

Another player who voted “negative” said it was because he felt like “a lot of people are talking more about that than the football game going on.”

Others viewed Swift’s presence at the games as both positive and negative.

“It’s bringing more attention to the game,” one player said, “but I feel like they’ve been using her face. If she’s at a game, they probably show her like six, seven times. People get … sick of it if they keep doing it over and over again. So I think they’ve got to find a balance.”

“It’s a positive and negative,” said another player. “The reason I say that is it’s great the impact she’s making on the younger female generation and getting them to learn about the sport. … The negative is all the true football fans who are tired of seeing it. We’re glad it’s raising engagement, but if I’m a Chiefs fan, I’m not trying to see Taylor Swift every commercial break or every timeout. We know she’s there.”

Like some fans, other players didn’t care, with one saying, “I’ll jam to some Taylor Swift, but I don’t give a s— if she’s at the game or not.”

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(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

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Sports

Craig Morton, quarterback who led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearance, dead at 83

Published

2 hours ago

May 12, 2026

Press Room

Craig Morton, quarterback who led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearance, dead at 83

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Former Denver Broncos quarterback Craig Morton, who was inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame, died on Saturday. He was 83.

Morton was critical in helping the Broncos reach their first-ever playoff appearance, ultimately getting them to Super Bowl XII during the 1977 campaign.

After going 12-2 during the season, and getting wins in the playoffs over the Pittsburgh Steelers and then-Oakland Raiders, Morton was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Year.

Denver Broncos quarterback Craig Morton stands on the sidelines with both hands on his hips. (GETTY)

“Craig Morton is unbelievable,” fellow Ring of Famer Haven Moses said after the Broncos won the AFC Championship in 1978, per the New York Times. “To me, he’s the most valuable player in the National Football League.”

Morton also won Sporting News Player of the Year, the PFWA Comeback Player of the Year and the NFL UPI MVP in 1977.

AARON RODGERS NEVER MET WITH STEELERS DESPITE RUMOR-FILLED WEEKEND AS QB’S DECISION REMAINS UP IN AIR

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of #BroncosROF quarterback Craig Morton, who died on Saturday at the age of 83,” the Broncos posted on social media.

Morton also led the Broncos to two different division titles and three playoff berths during his six seasons with the franchise. He finished his career in Denver with 11,895 passing yards, which marked the most in franchise history at the time.

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Quarterback Craig Morton #7 of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass during an NFL game at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colo., circa 1978. Morton played for the Broncos from 1977 to 1982. (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)

Morton also led the Broncos with pass attempts (1,594) and completions (907). But Morton’s time with the Broncos was the latter half of his NFL career.

He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1965, the fifth overall pick out of Cal. Morton spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Cowboys, where he threw for 10,279 yards with 80 touchdowns and 73 interceptions. He went 32-14-1 in his time with Dallas.

Then, during the 1974 season, Morton was moved to the New York Giants, a division rival of the Cowboys. He went 1-6 in his first seven starts that year and wouldn’t find much success in New York across three seasons.

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For his career, Morton threw for 27,908 yards with 183 touchdowns. He owned an 81-62-1 record across 207 games.

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

High school boys volleyball: City Section playoff scores and pairings

Published

2 hours ago

May 12, 2026

Press Room

CITY SECTION

MONDAY’S RESULTS

QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION III

#1 New West Charter d. #9 Central City Value, 25-17, 16-25, 25-10, 17-25, 15-13

#13 Birmingham d. #5 University Prep Value, 3-1

#3 South East d. #11 Monroe, 25-16, 25-19, 26-28, 25-16

#2 Legacy d. #7 Lincoln, 17-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20

DIVISION IV

#8 Annenberg d. #17 Canoga Park, 26-24, 25-19, 22-25, 25-27, 15-13

#4 Math & Science College Prep d. #12 Mendez, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20

#6 King Drew at #3 Manual Arts

7 Maywood CES d. #2 RFK Community, 25-12, 25-21, 25-22

DIVISION V

#1 WISH Academy d. #9 Alliance Levine, 25-19, 25-12, 25-23

#13 Rancho Dominguez d. #21 LAAAE, 25016, 25-20, 25-15

#14 Franklin d. #6 Gardena, 25-15, 25-22, 25-17

#10 Animo De La Hoya d. #15 Sotomayor, 28-30, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Matches at 7 p.m. unless noted)

SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION

#4 Venice at #1 Granada Hills

#3 Chatsworth at #2 Palisades

DIVISION I

#4 North Hollywood at #1 Taft

#3 Cleveland at #2 Sylmar

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Matches at 7 p.m. unless noted)

SEMIFINALS

DIVISION II

#4 Marquez at #1 LA Hamilton

#7 Panorama at #6 Narbonne

DIVISON III

#13 Birmingham at #1 New West Charter

#3 South East at #2 Legacy

DIVISION IV

#8 Annenberg at #4 Math & Science College Prep

#7 Maywood Academy at #3 Manual Arts or #6 King/Drew

DIVISION V

#13 Rancho Dominguez at #1 WISH Academy

#14 Franklin at #10 Animo De La Hoya

Note: Finals in all divisions May-16 (sites and times TBA).

Sports

2025-26 NBA Playoff Odds: Spreads, Lines for Second-Round Series

Published

14 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

2025-26 NBA Playoff Odds: Spreads, Lines for Second-Round Series

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Now the NBA playoffs are in the swing of things.

Let’s check out the odds for the second round of the playoffs, at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 11.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

EAST SECOND ROUND

No. 7 PHILADELPHIA vs. No. 3 NEW YORK
NYK wins 4-0

No. 4 CLEVELAND (+200) vs. No. 1 DETROIT (-250)
DET leads 2-1

GAME 4 — DET @ CLE (May 11)

Spread: Cavs -3.5
Moneyline: Pistons +140, Cavs -166
O/U: 213.5

What to know: This has been a weird series. Each team has yet to lose on its home court, and the games haven’t seen much domination on either side. Take Game 3 for example: Cleveland held Detroit to 18 points in the second quarter and took a 16-point lead into halftime. Then, in the third quarter, the Pistons held the Cavs to 19 points, cutting that deficit to two heading into the fourth. But Cleveland put together its highest-scoring quarter of the game in the final frame to emerge with a seven-point win.

WEST SECOND ROUND

No. 4 LOS ANGELES (+7000) vs. No. 1 OKLAHOMA CITY (-20000)
OKC leads 3-0

GAME 4 — OKC @ LAL (May 11)

Spread: Thunder -11.5
Moneyline: Thunder -520, Lakers +390
O/U: 214.5

What to know: It appears the Lakers just don’t have the firepower to compete with the Thunder. OKC has won the first three games of the series by a combined 59 points (19.7 points per game), including a 23-point win in Game 3 in Los Angeles. And consider this: SGA is averaging just 21 points per game on 46% shooting. The Thunder are stacked, and sit at 7-0 in the postseason so far.

No. 6 MINNESOTA (+320) vs. No. 3 SAN ANTONIO (-390)
Tied 2-2

GAME 5 — MIN @ SAS (May 12)

Spread: Spurs -10.5
Moneyline: Spurs -410, Wolves +320
O/U: 218.5

What to know: We’ve got a series on our hands. Now tied at 2-2, both of these teams have won once at home and once on the other team’s home floor, with the Wolves winning a crucial Game 4 in Minnesota. But that wasn’t the story of the night. Victor Wembanyama was assessed a Flagrant 2 in the first half of Game 4, and was ejected from the game, after hitting Naz Reid with a vicious elbow to the head. He will play Game 5, but how chippy might things be after that?