CBS Producer Calls Taylor Swift At Super Bowl ‘Gift From Gods’

Taylor Swift took the NFL by storm when her relationship with Travis Kelce became public, and all eyes will be on whether or not the global star will be in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII.

Swift will be in Japan the day before the big game for the final date of the Tokyo Dome stretch of her Eras Tour. It’s expected she will be at Allegiant Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers, and her appearance will draw even more eyes to the Super Bowl.

CBS will handle the broadcast with Fred Gaudelli set to be the lead producer. He was part of seven previous Super Bowl broadcasts, including Super Bowl XLIX when the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks thanks to Malcolm Butler’s game-winning interception. However, even with three decades as a lead producer for NFL games, Gaudelli knows how big Swift’s appearance would be.

“I would consider it a gift from the gods,” Gaudelli told The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch on the idea of Swift appearing at the Super Bowl.

Swift’s appearances on NFL broadcasts drew unhinged criticism from detractors. New York Times writer Benjamin Hoffman reported the Grammy Award winner was on-screen for less than 32 seconds in most games, with a high of one minute and 16 seconds for Peacock’s coverage of the Chiefs-Miami Dolphins matchup on Jan. 13.

There still is a balance that needs to be found on how often cameras should cut to Swift, which likely will be worked out heading into the game.

“… Now you have Taylor Swift, who also is someone that has a direct connection to the game because she’s a significant other of one of the stars of a team,” Gaudelli told Deitsch. “Maybe you don’t show her for every Kelce sequence, but she’s going to be part of sequences when he makes a play.”

There also is the balance of the millions of viewers who don’t often watch NFL games weekly. But if Swift does make it to the Super Bowl, she will be shown and mentioned regardless if people like it or not because Patrick Mahomes will be looking Kelce’s way if the Chiefs want to become the first team since the Patriots in the early 2000s to win back-to-back Super Bowls.