You certainly don’t have to wait until NFL game-days to see Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Seemingly, he pops up on every other TV commercial, whether for insurance or pharmaceutics or whatever. Recently, when the Chiefs played the New York Jets, Kelce appeared in three commercials.
However, Kelce is running a distant second to his current, uh close friend, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift who dominates the public consciousness, whether it’s credit card commercials (where they are many Taylors in various guises) or in pitches for her new movie. And by the way, the concert movie, the “Eras Tour” opened Thursday.
And, of course, during the games themselves, where the Chiefs Super Bowl odds are still among the best in the NFL, the viewing audience is likely to see both Kelce and Swift — he catching a pass and she cheering from a luxury box as the pair was doing Thursday during Kansas City's 19-8 win over Denver.
Swift-Kelce Dominate NFL Talk
For a time, and that time might still be with us, the Swift-Kelce friendship was the No. 1 topic of conversation in NFL circles, which wasn’t easy to do considering superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon before TV even had a chance to air the first Travis and/or Taylor commercial of the regular season.
Make of this social media-fueled, pop culture phenomenon what you will, but it’s also a fact such pairings and the public’s fascination with sports-entertainment Super Couples has been around for decades. BetKansas.com stretched a little from providing Kansas sportsbook promos and decided to take a look at a few other iconic jock-artist power couples in both recent and distant memory.
Joe DiMaggio-Marilyn Monroe
Technically, the late baseball Hall of Famer was not a Yankee when he got married to Monroe. He had retired a couple of years previously, but he remained a vivid sports icon. Their front-page marriage lasted just nine months (1954-55) but on a sad romantic note, DiMaggio made sure roses were placed on Monroe’s grave several times a week for almost 20 years after she died of an overdose in 1962. The relationship played out 70 years ago, and it still echoes with tragic romance.
David Beckham-Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice)
One of the greatest soccer players in the sport’s history whose career threaded through four decades married one of the Spice Girls (Victoria/aka Posh), a singer, model, fashion designer, in 1999. Defying the Kansas sports betting apps odds (if they handled these things) of such unions, they are still together.
Jennifer Lopez-Alex Rodriguez
Somewhere along the line, some clever or silly journalists thought a couple’s names should be combined into a contraction, probably for the benefit of headline writers. Hence, there was a “J-Rod.” The actress and baseball star started dating in 2017, got engaged, and announced their break-up in 2021. The relationship also drifted into some mutual business interests.
Tom Brady-Gisele Bundchen
Pro Football’s GOAT and the most super of super models were married in 2009 and had two children together. Brady also has a child by previous girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan. The “Brady Bundchen” marriage ended in divorce after 13 years in 2022. Bundchen has said the divorce was not specifically about Brady’s decision to unretire prior to the 2022 NFL season. However, rumors of the two hitting rough patches had circulated for years.
Serena Williams- Alexis Ohanian
Tennis superstar Williams and internet entrepreneur Ohanian (Reddit co-founder) met in 2015 in Rome. The two were married in 2017 and have two daughters. Ohanian has been an advocate for open internet. However, it is Williams who has the far greater public profile as the winner of an amazing 23 Grand Slam tennis singles titles, including Wimbledon seven times.
Kate Upton-Justin Verlander
The Houston Astros pitcher, in his 18th Major League season, is still going strong having authored a playoff win over Minnesota on Oct. 7. However, some would argue (including Verlander) his biggest victory has been in marrying model Kate Upton. Reportedly, the two met on the set of a video game commercial in 2012. After years of being photographed together, they married in 2017 and have a daughter together.
Ciara-Russell Wilson
The Denver Broncos quarterback and the singer, songwriter, model and business operator have been married since 2016. Ciara has a son by a previous relationship, and she and Wilson have two children together and are expecting a third.
Teyana Taylor-Iman Shumpert
The break-up of the 10-year relationship and seven-year marriage between former NBA player Iman Shumpert and singer-songwriter-actress Teyana Taylor was recently announced. Shumpert played from 2011 through 2021 for five teams. Taylor has won BET and MTV awards for directing, choreography, and dancing. The couple has two children with Shumpert having helped deliver their first baby.
Gabrielle Union-Dwyane Wade
Wade, a three-time NBA champion, spent the bulk of his 16-year career with the Miami Heat and was an all-star an incredible 13 times. Union, an actress, has a lengthy list of movie, TV and music video credits going back to the 1990s and continuing today. Wade and Union were married in 2014. She is step-mother to Wade’s three children, and they have a fourth child by surrogate.
Aaron Rodgers-Danica Patrick
With Rodgers, it could have been a fill-in-the-celebrity blank. Reportedly, Rodgers has dated the following actresses: Jessica Szohr, Olivia Munn, Kelly Rohrbach and Shailene Woodley (engaged but ended). Rodgers’ relationship with IndyCar and NASCAR racing driver Patrick (2017-2020) was particularly compelling since both were celebrity sports figures. Patrick was married once from 2005-2013. The 39-year-old Rodgers has never been married.
