Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were among the victims of the Los Angeles Chargers’ brutal schedule release video after eagle-eyed fans spotted subtle digs at the couple.
The Chargers’ schedule reveal was one of the most highly anticipated across all 32 NFL teams given their slick Minecraft-inspired effort went viral last year.
This time around the team pivoted to another video game, Halo, as the backdrop for an astonishing video which includes savage digs towards their 2026 opponents.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s affair scandal was referenced in the clip, while New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith was mocked over his recent online feud with fast-food chain Wendy’s.
And when they announced their Week 17 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce and his fiancee Swift were not safe.
At the start of the segment, a television crew belonging to TMZ are seen outside a home undergoing renovation, which is seemingly a reference to the frenzy over a recent story published by the outlet on Kelce’s mom, Donna, having work done at her house.
The LA Chargers mocked Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift in their schedule release video
The video referenced two of Swift’s arch-rivals in Scooter Braun and Charli XCX, as well as a Chargers players who infamously slapped Kelce last season
When the Halo characters storm the house, a message saying ‘Conceal the truth’ is read out before one of them unlocks a door and walks into another room.
A number of clever gamertags can then be seen as the character enters the secret room, including ‘ScootersVersion’ – a reference to Swift’s arch-rival Scooter Braun.
Scooter’s Version was the name of the second episode in 2024 documentary series ‘Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood’, which presented the record executive’s perspective on his infamous feud with Swift over the master recordings for her first six studio albums.
Another gamertag that can be seen is ‘xCxCharlixCx’, which is of course a reference to another of Swift’s enemies in popstar and former tour mate Charli XCX.
Fans were convinced last year that Swift’s 2025 song ‘Actually Romantic’, released on her ‘Life of a Showgirl’ album, was a diss track aimed at Charli XCX amid their ongoing feud.
Her soon-to-be-husband, Kelce, also wasn’t safe from the Chargers’ mockery, with the team referencing defensive tackle Teair Tart’s controversial slap on the Chiefs tight end earlier last season.
Tart was fined just over $12,000 for slapping Kelce on the helmet in the game in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which LA won 27-21.
The pop megastar had a well-documented dispute with Braun (left) over her masters recordings, while she was recently accused of releasing a diss track about Charli (right)
The Chargers also poked fun at Teair Tart’s infamous slap on Travis Kelce last season
The Chargers also appeared to reference Katy Perry in the segment, despite Swift ending her feud with the singer in recent years.
She and Kelce were certainly not the only high-profile names targeted in their schedule release video.
Vrabel bore the brunt of the Chargers’ most ruthless dig, which included a very subtle nod towards his alleged affair with female sports reporter Dianna Russini.
Introducing the Patriots as the Chargers’ Week 12 opponent, fans are transported to a whacky futuristic race tack resembling a scene from the Halo video game.
As vehicles to start to race a message interrupts and appears on screen that reads ‘Attention. Nothing to see here. Press X to skip this checkpoint’, alluding to the scandal that has engulfed the team.
Once the race continues, the vehicles drive past a billboard that reads ‘next photo dump 1 mile’, referring to the constant stream of images of Vrabel and female sports reporter Russini that has emerged in recent weeks.
Mike Vrabel also wasn’t safe, with LA mentioning his alleged affair with Dianna Russini
Then a ‘message’ from The New York Post arrives on screen after the publication was the first to publish pictures of Vrabel and Russini together at a lavish resort in Arizona.
Then the vehicles drive off the edge of the circuit, causing them to blow up and kill players named ‘Drake Maye’, ‘BigWillie66’ (Will Campbell) and ‘FreeTheFeet13’ (Mack Hollins).
The Chargers also reference Cardi B and Stefon Diggs’ tumultuous relationship by killing off characters named ‘okurrr_cardi’ and ‘DaddyDiggs6’.
It comes after it was revealed earlier on Thursday that the NFL will not be taking action against teams who poke fun at the ongoing scandal.
