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Legendary NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe says he’s grateful for the attention that Taylor Swift has brought to football, calling it “entirely a positive [thing].”
“She’s dating an incredibly cool dude, that happens to be a [future] Hall of Fame football player and it’s a cool story,” the star QB says. “I think it’s a very authentic thing. And I don’t see any negatives to it at all.”
Bledsoe spoke to Variety on the red carpet of “Verizon Presents: Run the Playlist Live” Saturday, part of Verizon’s four-day activation at Super Bowl LVIII. Held in conjunction with Apple Music, the event saw NFL players join YouTuber Deestroying and Grammy winner Anderson.Paak (as DJ Pee Wee) on stage to chat about the songs that have carried them throughout their football careers.
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For Bledoe — who admits he’s been turned onto Swift’s music from his kids — the attention the singer has brought to the league has been especially noteworthy for drawing more women to the game. “I was like every other dad out there for a while where I was annoyed as hell that they were showing Taylor Swift all the time,” he admits. “But she’s arguably the most famous person in the world. And if anything, you got a lot of new people watching the game, especially a lot of daughters who would never have been interested in a football game. All of a sudden,” Bledsoe says, “they’re sitting there with dad watching the game – and that’s been incredible.”
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While he doesn’t know Swift personally, the four-time Pro Bowler and 2001 Super Bowl Champ says he’s friendly with Kelce and has had many conversations with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end in the past, calling him “an amazing human.”
Bledsoe also credits Kelce, as well as many of the other NFL stars these days, for thinking ahead when it comes to their careers and brands. “I do think that athletes are much more thoughtful [these days] about trying to build something for after they’re done,” Bledsoe says.” When we were playing, you just played ball as long as you could, and then would try to figure it out.”
Fortunately, Bledsoe planned ahead and began developing a wine business that is now Bledsoe Family Wines, based in Walla Walla, WA. “I did start to develop a plan about midway through my career that we were going to get into the wine business,” he says. “So when I retired from ball, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to play ball anymore. It was because I was excited for the next thing. You’ve seen all these horror stories about athletes that retire, and then fail. And I did not want to fail at the second phase of life.”
Saturday night’s “Run the Playlist” taping was the last event at Verizon’s four-day Super Bowl activation. Dubbed “Verizon Live,” the events took over Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club and gave Verizon customers a chance to get up close and personal with talent and content from partners like Netflix, Max, and Apple Music. In addition to panels, parties, and meet-and-greets, the events also promoted Verizon’s multiple bundle options, which give customers Netflix and Max together for just $10 a month, or Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, along with Netflix and Max for just $20 per month.