Swift or the Super Bowl: Who is the Real MVP?

Is Taylor Swift and her already iconic Eras Tour bigger than the Super Bowl? The question that started with a quote alleging so from Jane Talbot, CEO of city business improvement association Downtown Van, can be answered with: It depends. Talbot alluded to reports that local businesses in Glendale, Arizona, had said their revenues soared more when Swift kicked off her mammoth tour there in March 2023 than when the Super Bowl was played at the same stadium one month earlier. This Sunday, Swift and the Super Bowl will of course collide for the first time as the 34-year-old singer is expected to cheer on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chief's tight end Travis Kelce, at the event in Paradise, Nev., close to Las Vegas.

Some of Swift's perceived superiority might have come from the fact that she packed State Farm Stadium on the outskirts of Phoenix with more people on back-to-back nights than last year's Super Bowl did. Around 146,000 Swifties - Taylor Swift fans - descended upon the area for both concerts. While Talbot's quote only refers to the opening night, both Swift's and the Super Bowl's fans tend to visit hosting cities for several days around their event of choice, creating revenues for local businesses throughout. Looking at per-person spending only, the Super Bowl is still in the lead at $2,500 per ticketed attendee. Swift's fans' spending was estimated somewhat lower at "just" $1,300 to $1,500 per person. So despite this, the Eras Tour's 151 dates announced across five continents and two years are clearly bound to bring more money into local economies as well as Taylor Swift's pockets in total.

When it comes to net worth, Swift is therefore the most valuable player in the comparison, with a newly estimated net worth of $1.1 billion hugely padded by Eras Tour income. This year's Super Bowl's richest players are Partrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chief, at $70 million and Nick Bosa, defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers, at $50 million. Boyfriend Travis Kelce can also not hold the candle to Swift at a net worth of $40 million.