If you’d hoped to tie the knot with Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce, you’re in for a cruel summer.
On August 26, podcaster, actor, commercial pitchman, and Kansas City Chiefs future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce popped the question to his girlfriend of two years, bajillion-selling singer/songwriter Taylor Swift.
Tay-Tay said yes, taking the two icons off the market, breaking the hearts of Kelce-lovers and Swifties across the land.
The coupling, which comes on the heels of Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen’s marriage to actress Haillee Steinfeld, has fantasy football owners wondering, Does an NFL player’s off-field love life impact his on-field performance, and thus his value to fantasy football lovers?
Let’s grab some chocolate-covered strawberries, dig into some stats, and figure it out.
❤️ 🏈 Get started on PrizePicks today to get $50 instantly in Lineups after your first $5 Lineup.
Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift vs. Tom Brady & Gisele Bündchen vs. Jay Cutler & Kristin Cavallari
On February 26, 2009, then-New England Patriots QB Tom Brady walked down the aisle with supermodel Gisele Bündchen. Thirteen years and three Super Bowl wins later, the couple called it quits.
Before putting the ring on Bündchen’s finger, Brady was a fantasy football deity, posting a career-high fantasy point average in 2011 with 27.9. His best fantasy year, post-divorce, was 2021, when he racked up 26.9.
So one could surmise that Brady was a scootch better statistically when he was betrothed.
On June 7, 2013, then-Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler walked down the aisle with reality TV star Kristin Cavallari. Seven years and zero Super Bowl appearances later, the couple called it quits.
Before putting the ring on Cavallari’s finger, Cutler was an average fantasy football option, posting a career-high fantasy point average in 2008 with 19.1. His best fantasy year, post-marriage, was 2014, when he racked up 17.9.
So one could surmise that Cutler was a scootch worse statistically when he was betrothed.
Which tells us exactly nothing about Kelce’s bachelor dude vs. engaged dude fantasy value. But don’t despair, fantasy football players: We do have one more data set to play with.
When Travis Met Taylor
Swift and Kelce went public with their relationship in September of 2023, right around the start of the NFL season. In his two Taylor-centric campaigns, the future Hall of Famer averaged 13.4 fantasy points per game, whereas in his pre-Swift life, his average was 15.9.
Sure, the drop can be attributed to age and opportunity, but for the sake of this thought experiment, let’s go ahead and say the slide was caused by a body and a brain that were softened by love.
As of this writing, FantasyPros has Kelce’s ADP at 69 (TE5), but one has to wonder if he’s as good a fantasy option as bachelors like Baltimore’s Mark Andrews (TE7), Cleveland’s David Njoku (TE9), or Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid (TE13).
Andrews, Njoku, and Kincaid might not be headed to Canton, but at least when they step on the field in 2025, they’ll be able to shake it off.
