Christen Goff, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model and wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, has a fairly clear-eyed view of what Taylor Swift has done for the NFL. Speaking on PEOPLE’s new WAG World digital series, the 33-year-old said Swift’s arrival in the football world since dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has genuinely shifted the audience around the sport — and around her own social media presence in ways she didn’t expect.
How has Taylor Swift changed the NFL fan base?
Christen has been part of the NFL world since 2019, long enough to know what it used to look like. Back then, her followers were predominantly male. Fantasy football managers, mostly. And they weren’t exactly warm.“I feel like I used to only get angry DMs from fantasy football guys, mad about their lineup or whatever,” she said on the show.That changed. She noticed it gradually, then all at once. Her comment sections started filling with women — women curious about games, about sideline outfits, about what life actually looks like when your husband plays professional football.“Now there’s so many women interested in sports,” she said. “I’ve really seen my audience shift and I think we can honestly owe that to people like Taylor Swift, bringing so many eyes to the world of football and all sports.”Taylor Swift, 36, and Kelce, also 36, went public in September 2023 and announced their engagement in August 2025. Their relationship pulled millions of Swifties toward a sport they’d largely ignored, and the ripple effect landed everywhere — including in Christen’s DMs.“And now I get so many girls that are interested in what’s going on in my life,” Christen said. “I think that’s just been so fun to kind of see that transition.”It’s an observation that aligns with what the broader numbers have shown. NFL viewership among women climbed noticeably during the 2023-24 season, and WAGs with significant platforms saw their own audiences widen. Christen herself ranks in the top ten of the most influential NFL WAGs, per a 2025 analysis that named Swift the most impactful figure in that space.
What did Christen Goff say about her first season as a mom at NFL games?
The WAG World conversation wasn’t all about Swift, though. Christen and Jared, 31, became parents last July when their daughter Romy arrived — and Christen had plenty to say about navigating game day with a newborn.“Last year, she was so little. I think she was only three months at our first game. I was more just like focused on her and like keeping her alive,” she said with characteristic candour.The couple met on dating app Raya, married in Ojai, California in June 2024, and are now heading into their first full NFL season with a daughter who’s old enough to actually register what’s happening around her.“This year will be so fun because I feel like she’ll come to a few more games and know a little bit more what’s going on,” Christen said. “I’m excited to experience this next football season with her so she can like clap and get involved.”And the game day wardrobe priorities? Shifted accordingly. “My outfits have taken a little bit of like a backseat on game day. Her outfits kind of have stepped forward.”