Kelly Stafford, the wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, was sick and tired of the obsessive coverage of Taylor Swift during the 2023 NFL season. And yet, she paid homage to the world’s biggest pop star with her Halloween costume on Thursday.
The entire Stafford family directly contradicted the matriarch’s prior criticism…
Swift, of course, is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN drew a lot of criticism for how often they showed her in the crowd during Kansas City games last year. All four networks frequently cut to the Swift suite after touchdowns and big plays.
Stafford understands why the NFL put such a big focus on T-Swizzle, but she — like many NFL fans — got tired of hearing about it because the emphasis on celebrity took away from the on-field play. The 34-year-old former Georgia cheerleader admitted on her podcast, The Morning After, that it also made her jealous.
It was a good business decision for the NFL but I almost felt like it was outshining the games. And that’s what bothered me. I was a little jealous of the fact that they were getting all this attention and all of a sudden the football game was the sideshow. So yeah maybe I let jealousy get the best of me.
— Kelly Stafford
Stafford made it very clear that her frustration has nothing to do with the musician herself.
Now, I have never once said I didn’t like Taylor Swift — ever. But I will say I kind of got tired of the Chiefs’ coverage of it — actually the NFL’s coverage — of this budding relationship last year. And, can she do anything about that? No, she can’t.
— Kelly Stafford
The coverage of Taylor Swift took some shine away from the players.
I watched my husband work his a– off and all of these guys who work for the league work their a–es off and all of a sudden they’re like the sideshow.
— Kelly Stafford
Although Stafford’s comments are not that extreme when compared to other hot takes, they are contradictory. She is a huge fan of Swift. The entire family, including the future Hall of Fame signal-caller, are Swifties. Kelly and Matt took their four daughters to New Orleans for the Eras Tour.
Kelly also admitted that her tune has changed, ever so slightly, on the NFL’s coverage of Swift.
I am so thankful for her in a lot of ways because there are so many more women watching, there are little girls watching with their dads and I do think it definitely makes my girls love football more knowing that she’s adjacent to it. I honestly think my girls are prouder of their dad because he’s playing the sport that Taylor Swift loves.
— Kelly Stafford
The Stafford family loves Taylor Swift so much that they dressed up as the high-profile couple for Halloween. Kelly, Sawyer, Chandler, Hunter and Tyler went as Swift. Stafford dressed as Kelce.
They crushed the costume. Kelly and Matt looked like Travis and Taylor at the U.S. Open.
However, the costume is in direct contradiction of her prior comments.
Kelly Stafford was upset with the NFL for focusing on Taylor Swift. It took the attention away from her husband and his teammates. It also took the attention away from her.
To turn right around and dress up as the same people she criticized just a few days prior is essentially doing the exact same thing she was so vocal against… Kelly really is jealous of Taylor!