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J. Cole would like NY Jets fans to change their famous chant from J-E-T-S! to “Kap-Kap-Kap!”
On Tuesday (Sept. 26), Cole posted a letter he said he obtained from exiled NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, in which the player who famously got sidelined after taking a knee during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in 2016 offered up his services to the Jets in the wake of the week-one injury to Aaron Rodgers. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017 after his protest made international headlines and offered himself up as a free agent, but the six-year veteran has not had any offers from another NFL team since.
“I asked Colin @kaepernick7 if I could share this letter with the world. He was reluctant,” Cole said of the note dated Sept. 21. “My argument was that I believe the people and all organizations should know the truth about how hard he works and how much he still wants to play. And always has. In the end, he agreed to let me.”
In his note, the former San Francisco 49ers QB told the Jets’ GM Joe Douglas that he would be “honored and extremely grateful for the opportunity to come in and lead the practice squad.” At press time it did not appear that Kaepernick had posted the letter on his socials, or commented on Cole posting it.
“I’m writing, of course, in response to the unfortunate loss of Aaron Rodgers. I know the aspirations this season were, and still are, to win a championship, and so that Hall of Fame sized hole will need to be filled as best as possible to keep the team on a Super Bowl track,” Kaepernick wrote in his note about the loss of the legendary Rodgers, who went down with a torn Achilles tendon just four plays into his first season with the Jets.
“As of right now, Zach Wilson is charged with that task, and I wish him and the rest of the team the best moving forward,” Kaepernick continued. “However, I know that there are currently depth issues at the position, and I’ve heard that the back-up spot is likely to be filled by a veteran Quarterback. As much as I would love the opportunity to fill that spot, I’m writing you in hopes that you can imagine a much different approach involving me.”
Kaep said he would be happy to lead the practice squad in an effort to help the team’s defense be ready each week by giving them the advantage of getting a “truer read on the more mobile/athletic/versatile quarterbacks it will face in weeks 4, 5, and 6 (Mahomes, Wilson, and Hurts.”
It would also, of course, allow the team to get a look at where Kaepernick is at this point, football-wise, after more than six years on the shelf. Kaepernick assured the Jets that he has not stopped training since his exile, working out every weekday, while attaching a list of references that included Michigan head coach (and former 49ers coach) Jim Harbaugh, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and UCLA head coach (and former 49ers coach) Chip Kelly.
Rumors about Kaepernick’s availability and interest have been swirling for several weeks, following the Rodgers loss that instantly deflated title chances for the Jets, who are currently mired in the longest active playoff drought in the league at 12 seasons.
“I wish the @nyjets organization luck. My boy @bas is a big ass fan so I saw the heartbreak of every Jets fan when Arod went down,” added Cole, who shouted out CKaep on the 2018 Miguel track “Come Through and Chill,” where he rhymed, “In case my lack of reply had you catchin’ them feelings/ Know you’ve been on my mind like Kaepernick kneelin’/ Or police killings, or Trump sayin’ slick s–t.”
“@richeisen Everyone from players, to coaches, to execs are feeling the pressure I’m sure. I hope y’all can turn it around, and I hope there’s a spot out there for my boy Kap.”
See Cole’s post below.
Usher is likely to use the world’s biggest stage at Super Bowl LVIII in February to promote his first major tour in nearly a decade and become the first act to launch a tour from the big game in seven years, sources tell Billboard.
Following the NFL’s announcement Sunday that the R&B icon will take over Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 as the game’s halftime show performer, sources say Usher’s team has been busy placing holds on arenas around the world. That same team is expected to spend the next four-and-a-half months routing, confirming and finalizing a 2024 global tour that sources expect will be ready to go on sale moments after he steps off the stage.
Over the past two years, Usher has made a home on the Las Vegas Strip with two residencies at the The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and Dolby Live at Park MGM (for Usher: The Las Vegas Residency and My Way: The Vegas Residency, respectively). Combined, his residencies have earned $83 million and sold 374,000 tickets from 79 shows, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, and Billboard estimates that his Vegas earnings should exceed $100 million by early December. That’s more than any of Usher’s prior tours, topping 2010-11’s OMG Tour, which brought in $76 million — and coincidentally lined up with the singer’s previous Super Bowl halftime appearance, when he made a cameo during The Black Eyed Peas’ 2011 set. His last major tour was 2014–15’s The UR Experience Tour.
Usher will also use the halftime show as a platform to launch a new album release. The Atlanta superstar will drop his ninth studio album and his first since 2016, called Coming Home, on the same day as the Super Bowl. Last year, more than 115 million people tuned in for the Super Bowl, according to the NFL, showing viewership of the annual championship game continues to grow even as more Americans “cut the cord” with their cable providers and seek out digital streaming alternatives. Despite the increase in eyeballs, the number of artists making tour announcements or adjustments have dropped dramatically.
It has been seven years since an artist took advantage of Super Bowl halftime show’s massive viewership to announce a new tour — the last was Lady Gaga in 2017. The reason for that is likely two-fold. First, there are more artists touring than ever before, making it difficult for artists to time their touring plans and album cycles around a February announcement date, especially when halftime performers aren’t typically announced until September. The second change was a new partnership with Jay-Z and Roc Nation in 2019 to curate and book the halftime show, which has favored collaborative spectacles over single artist promotion with performances by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez at the 2020 Super Bowl and Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar at the 2022 Super Bowl.
Looking at the last five Super Bowl halftime shows, from 2018 to 2022, only two were linked to tour announcements: In 2018, Justin Timberlake, announced additional dates for his Man of the Woods Tour including second American leg for Man of the Woods following his Super Bowl LII halftime performance at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. And, in 2021, The Weeknd announced the long-awaited rescheduled dates for his After Hours Tour along with 39 new shows in North America and Europe after his Super Bowl performance. (Eight months later, those rescheduled dates were cancelled a second time, and the tour was upgraded to stadiums for summer 2022.)
The preceding five-year period, 2017-2013, was far busier — four out of five of the halftime shows from this period were linked to major tour announcements.
The last artist to announce a tour immediately following their performance at the Super Bowl was Lady Gaga in 2017. The singer began her remarkable set by descending from the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium onto an on-field stage to perform “Just Dance,” “Bad Romance,” “Poker Face”. After her show wrapped, a post on her Twitter account teased out a world tour, and then hours later a follow-up tweet directed fans to website where fans could buy tickets. Coldplay’s halftime performance in 2016 led to two major tour announcements: one for the band’s Head Full of Dreams Tour and another for their halftime co-star Beyoncé’s Formation Tour. Beyonce also announced The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour following 2013 Super Bowl performance, while Bruno Mars announced new dates for his Moonshine Jungle Tour following his 2014 halftime show performance in 2014.
Additional reporting by Eric Frankenberg.
Once again, Taylor Swift lifts all boats. After Tay spent her Sunday afternoon cheering on Kansan City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce from a box at Arrowhead Stadium alongside Travis’ mom, the star is already starting to feel the Swift Effect. “Yesterday, Travis Kelce was one of the top five selling NFL players and saw […]
It’s official! Usher is set to headline next year’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, he announced on Sunday (Sept. 24). “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before,” […]
Patrick Mahomes is officially this week’s “MVW” — Most Valuable Wingman. After learning that Taylor Swift was in attendance at Sunday night’s (Sept. 24) Chiefs vs. Bears game to watch her rumored love interest Travis Kelce in action, the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback joked that he felt extra pressure to throw the Chief’s tight end a touchdown-scoring catch so that Kelce could properly impress the pop star.
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“I heard she was in the house,” Mahomes said in a post-game interview, moments after his team secured a 41-10 victory over the Bears. “I felt a little bit of pressure. I knew I had to get [the ball] to Trav.”
Indeed, he did. About halfway through the game’s third quarter, Kelce caught a sparkling pass from Mahomes in the end zone. After the play, Swift was seen next to Kelce’s mom, Donna, banging on the glass of their private box suite and cheering.
“I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to,” added Mahomes, when asked whether he felt extra heat from Swift’s fans to make Kelce look good.
The musician’s surprise appearance at Arrowhead Stadium adds fuel to rumors that she may be dating Kelce, who confessed in July to having a crush on her after his unsuccessful attempt to slip her his phone number at an Eras Tour concert. Last week, he told press that he had invited the “Anti-Hero” singer to attend one of his games, an offer she clearly took him up on. After the game, Swift was seen leaving the stadium with Kelce.
Later, in a press conference, Mahomes recalled the way he found out from Kelce that Swift would be making an appearance at the Chiefs-Bears game. “He told me at the last minute,” he told reporters, according to Fox Sports. “There’s some things with Trav where he kind of just says it and you don’t know if it’s true or not … He was like, ‘Yeah, I think she’s coming to the game this weekend,’ and then moved about his business.”
“Yeah, I mean she’s a pop star, she’s a tremendous singer, tremendous at everything she does,” added the quarterback. “I haven’t got to meet her but I guess if she ends up being with Travis then I will probably get to meet her at some point. She seems like a good person. Hopefully I get to meet her one day.”
Watch Patrick Mahomes weigh in on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s rumored romance below:
From Swifties to NFL fans — and even coaches Bill Belichick and Andy Reid — everyone is buzzing about Taylor Swift‘s appearance at the Sunday night (Sept. 24) Chiefs-Bears game, where she was spotted passionately cheering on Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. Although the Chiefs secured a sweeping 41-10 victory over the Bears, commenters […]
Was Sunday a fairy tale and Travis Kelce the prince? Taylor Swift didn’t just spend Sept. 24 cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end from his suite alongside his mom, Donna, as the team played the Chicago Bears. According to Jarrett Payton, sports reporter for WGN and co-host of GN Sports, the pop superstar and NFL player left Arrowhead Stadium together after the match, which the Chiefs won 10-41.
In a video clip Payton shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), Kelce and the 12-time Grammy winner are walking by him shoulder to shoulder. The NFL star nods in greeting to the anchor and asks, “How you doin’” as Tay flashes Payton a smile and says, “Heeeeey!”
“Talk about being at the right place at the right time!” Payton captioned the quick clip of the two stars together post game. “Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after the game. #Bears #ChiefsKingdom #NFL.”
In the short video, Swift is wearing a red-and-white Chiefs jacket tied around her waist. But she wasn’t the only one wearing the swag of a rumored love interest. Kelce wore what looked like the “1989 Bedroom Painting Set” by Kid Super. The two-piece set includes a cream and light blue denim jacket ($295) and matching pants ($285); both items are currently marked “low in stock.”
After walking out of the stadium, the twosome were spotted riding off together in his convertible, according to photos acquired by TMZ.
Neither the singer-songwriter nor pro football player have confirmed whether they’re dating — though his brother Jason Kelce, a fellow NFL player, has certainly been having fun teasing the rumored romance in various interviews. Travis himself has previously shared his interest in the star. In July, after attending The Eras Tour — also at Arrowhead Stadium — Travis revealed during an appearance on the New Heights podcast that he had tried to slip her his phone number via a friendship bracelet, but failed. “I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” he admitted at the time.
Then on Thursday (Sept. 21), the tight end revealed that he had invited Swift to one of his games. “I threw the ball in her court,” he said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future.”
Watch Payton’s clip of Swift and Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after his game Sunday:
Taylor Swift is watching Sunday’s Chiefs-Bears game from the comfort of Travis Kelce’s suite. Rumors swirled on social media that Swift would be attending the Sept. 24 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game just before kickoff, with Bleacher Report posting the tip about where she’d be seated. Rumors of a romance between the two […]
Is Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s “Love Story” real after all? It seemed like it momentarily in a new interview when Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce shared his thoughts on the dating rumors with DeCamara & Richie on Audacy’s SportsRadio 94 WIP on Wednesday (Sept. 20).
“It’s hard to answer because I don’t really know a lot about Travis’ love life,” he told the hosts after they joked about the Kansas City Chiefs player being better looking than Brad Pitt and asking how the rumored couple are doing.
“I try to keep his business kind of his business, stay out of that world,” the Eagles player said. “But having said that, I think he’s doing great and I think it’s all one hundred percent true. I hope this thing goes the mile …”
Immediately following that, in a difficult-to-hear follow-up, he says, “Nah, I’m joking” as the hosts respond in surprise and a “good for them!”
Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.
Just last week (Sept. 14), Jason was asked about the potential romance. “I’ve seen these rumors … I cannot comment,” he said during a post-game interview. “I don’t really know what’s going on there. I know Trav is having fun, we’ll see what happens with whoever he ends up with.”
Travis scored his first regular season touchdown — a hyperextended knee sidelined him the week prior — on Sept. 17, and NFL announcer Ian Eagle used the moment to slip in a few references to Taylor Swift lyrics. “Kelce finds a blank space for the score!” he quipped, a nod to her 2014 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Blank Space.”
Then on Rich Eisen’s eponymous sports talk show, the commentator joked, “You saw it on Thursday night, when Travis Kelce wasn’t in there, it left a ‘blank space,’ but I think he returns today and proves to be the ‘anti-hero.’ Never goes ‘out of style,’” doubling down on the “Blank Space” reference and looping in 1989’s “Style” and Midnights‘ Hot 100 chart-topper “Anti-Hero.”
Travis and Taylor have been linked since July when the Kansas City Chiefs tight end attended her Eras Tour stop at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. On his New Heights podcast — which he hosts alongside his brother — Travis explained how he attempted to slip Swift his number through the tour’s now-trademark friendship bracelets.
Listen to a clip of Jason Kelce’s interview with DaCamara & Richie below:
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is dealing with his rumored romance with Taylor Swift — even on the football field. He scored his first touchdown of the season during a showdown between the Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday (Sept. 17). Since Kelce missed last week’s game — the first game of […]