The NFL is the most popular major professional sports league in North America. All the teams and their players receive a ton of attention both on and off the field.
NFL games have also traditionally dominated TV coverage, averaging 17.2 million viewers a week. In fact, the NFL accounted for 93 of the top 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in the US in 2023.
As a result, commercial slots during NFL games are expensive and it’s one of the league’s biggest sources of income. The NFL media partners like ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox, Amazon Prime, and others bring in a total of $5 to $6 billion annually from advertising.
In 2023, Super Bowl champions, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, appeared in the most in-game commercials. Together, the Chiefs duo appear in 716 commercials so far this year.
- Travis Kelce — 375 appearances
- Patrick Mahomes — 341 appearances
- Kevin Miles (Jake From State Farm) — 247 appearances
- Christian McCaffrey — 194 appearances
- Aaron Ikeda & Keisuke Hoashi — 178 appearances
Kelce Continues To Dominate The Airways
It’s not a surprise that 2023 was one of the best years for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce both romantically and financially. Kelce began the year by winning his second Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs, which helped get the ball rolling for bigger things to come.
By the summer, he was dating one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Taylor Swift, who may have played a role in his commercial appeal during the 2023-2024 season.
Kelce appeared in 375 commercials this season, more than any other player or TV personality. Meanwhile, his quarterback, two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, made 341 appearances in commercial in-game, good for second on the list.
The rest of the top five rounds out with Kevin Miles (Jake from State Farm), Christian McCaffrey with 194 appearances along with Aaron Ikeda & Keisuke Hoashi with 178 appearances.
Kelce Brings in $20 Million With Pfizer Commercials
Kelce made headlines this year after confirming his relationship with Taylor Swift. The pair have received an unprecedented amount of attention from TV networks and NFL fans.
While Swift is already a billionaire, her presence at games drove up the viewership in the first eight games of the season. As for Kelce, he reportedly made $20 million from his deal with Pfizer. He is the leading star in all commercials with 375 appearances and has been paid substantially for his contributions in commercials for Pfizer, State Farm, and Lowe’s.
In comparison, Kelce only brought in a total of $14 million on the field and received $20 million just from a single endorsement deal. Even before details emerged about the terms of his deal with Pfizer, Sportico estimated that advertisers had shelled out $21.2 million for Kelce’s on-air TV spots.
That would mean the Chief’s tight end could have earned anywhere from $30-40 million for his commercial appearances this season.
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