Economist Explains Why Taylor Swift is Bigger Than 55 Super Bowls

I know you haven’t put your phone along with every media portal you have access to on silent. Therefore, you are well aware that Taylor Swift has all but taken over the world.

There are a few Swifites living in my house who are healthily obsessed with the “Swiftplosion” we are all witnessing. Their next highly anticipated Taylor experience is planned for this Friday. More about that in a moment.

Ever since the Eras Tour launched, we've been hearing about how all the spending in and around each Taylor Swift concert has given local economies a tremendous boost.

The latest chatter is a financial observation suggested by a well-respected economist. Ed Tiryakian is predicting that Taylor Swift-driven spending could equal the economic impact of more than 55 Super Bowls.

Tiryakian is an associate professor of corporate finance and business economics at Duke University. In a conversation with The Messenger he states that a single Taylor Swift concert has the economic impact of one Super Bowl. It includes not only spending by locals who attend, but also spending by out-of-town or out-of-country fans who travel to the shows. Then there's the spending by people who traveled with those fans but didn't actually attend the show.

Taylor is gearing up to perform her international leg of the tour. Those dates will be followed by more North American dates. Tiryakian believes that if those shows see the same level of spending we've seen at the previous U.S. dates, the total global impact from the Eras Tour could be anywhere from $55 billion to $80 billion. He also says the direct impact from the U.S. shows alone would be equal to 55 or 60 Super Bowls.

Tiryakian continues the NFL parallel by suggesting the so-called "Taylor economy" will continue to have an impact on professional sports. Since Taylor has been linked to Travis Kelce, both football viewership and merchandise sales have soared. If they stay together and the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl this year, it will undoubtedly be the most viewed of anything there's ever been.

He says, "She just dropped a golden goose into the NFL’s lap. It’s like they won the lottery."

Next up, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour hits theatres this week. The Swifties in my house will be there opening night with rows of friends. They’ll be contributing to the more than $100 million dollars in pre-sales.

What’s next for Taylor? I’m sure we’ll find out soon.

The Super Bowl is not only the biggest event every year in the sporting world, but the Halftime Show is also the biggest entertainment event. Even though the Halftime show is under 15 minutes, it is talked about months in advance. And if the performance is successful, it’ll be talked about for years afterward. Only the biggest names in music have had the honor to grace the Super Bowl stage: Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Aerosmith, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Who, Prince, the Black Eyed Peas, Madonna, Beyonce, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and The Weeknd, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and 50 Cent, Rihanna, and Usher.

Super Bowl LVII show took place in Glendale, Arizona's State Farm Stadium, and featured Rihanna. Fans who were hotly anticipating new music were given another surprise by the "Diamonds" singer. Debuting her pregnant belly, the artist's performance wasn't as electrifying as anticipated due to her inability to do any crazy choreography. The show's elevated stages and backup dancers tried to compensate for that. As with any pop artist, people online were criticizing her choice of wardrobe and debated on whether or not she was pregnant, as she waited until after the show to confirm it. Though this wasn't the comeback we wanted from Rihanna, it was still great to watch her perform for the first time in years.

For Super Bowl LVIII, R&B superstar Usher shook the stage with a medley of his biggest hits. He brought along Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil Jon, H.E.R., will.i.am, and Jermaine Dupri for the halftime show. Back in April, he told Access Hollywood that he "would be a fool to say no" to headline the Super Bowl, a "bucket list" dream of his. Usher has sold over 23 million albums and 38 million digital songs in the United States. With over 80 million records sold worldwide, the "There Goes My Baby" singer is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. See who we predict will take the stage for Super Bowl LIX below:

The Canadian singer may have sold his music catalog and cancelled his Justice tour after battling health complications from his Ramsay Hunt syndrome, but Beliebers from all over would tune in to see him perform. With over a decade of hits to choose from, his halftime set would be entertaining and feature choreography and stripped-down versions of his songs. Fans noticeably missed Bieber from joining Usher during his Super Bowl LVIII performance, as the two previously collaborated on the remix of "Somebody To Love." The Biebs was present during the game, watching with his wife, Hailey Bieber, in Kim Kardashian's suite.

In 2012, Clarkson sang the National Anthem the year (Madonna played the Halftime Show that year). On top of that, Clarkson performed at the 2023 NFL Honors in February. With one of the greatest voices of her generation, Clarkson would surely attract a huge audience, as most of America has followed her career since her American Idol days.

Drake seems like an obvious choice at this point. With music constantly crossing into top 40, the Canadian rapper and singer is among the world's best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold. The "Know Yourself" rapper is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the RIAA.

As another icon of the early 2000's, the punk princess performing at the Super Bowl would offer a different type of musical act, as her music sways from pop-punk to rock and post-grunge and to straight up pop. With a full band and her high energy, Avril would sure to make a memorable halftime performance.

The "As It Was" singer has the type of fan backing that would fill up the stadium and viewership, probably more than Justin Bieber. Because of the award-winning pop star's flamboyant fashion style, he sure would create a buzz before and after the show.

Benito has had a successful past few years, and has even further skyrocketed his fame by becoming romantically involved with Kendall Jenner. Not that he even needs her publicity boost, Bad Bunny has been credited with helping Spanish-language music achieve mainstream popularity on a global scale. He has proven that on multiple occasions, with hit after hit and awards to match.

The "Easy On Me" singer has already embarked on her highly-anticipated Las Vegas residency. She has the fandom that would sell out shows and pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to see her in an intimate setting. Though her songs aren't exactly lively, we're sure Adele would blow everyone away with her singing.

It's pretty crazy to think that Mariah Carey has never graced the Super Bowl stage. For someone who has one of the most iconic singing voices and decades worth of hits, Carey would deliver a halftime performance that longtime fans would enjoy.

As the new version of Mariah Carey, Grande's vocal chops go toe-to-toe with the Songstress Supreme. Grande is one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 90 million records globally, and all of her studio albums are certified platinum or higher. She is also the most-streamed female artist of all time, and with her starring in the Wicked film adaptations, we're sure her vocal chops are that much greater.

With her most expansive tour yet, Swift's Eras Tour had a cultural, economic and political impact. It passed $1 billion in sales by March 2024, and is on the path to achieve the milestone of the biggest tour in music history. Swift's influence as an artist is wide, and with the popular demand of the artist, her headlining the Super Bowl will be another triumph under her belt. Having been in attendance to her Kansas City Chiefs star boyfriend's games, Swift is well-known now in the NFL world, whether people wanted to or not.