The Philadelphia Eagles do plan on visiting the White House to celebrate their second Super Bowl victory, if and when they receive an invitation, a league source has confirmed to DailyMail.com.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter were first to report the news, simultaneously writing on X that the Eagles would be ‘honored’ to visit Donald Trump‘s White House.
‘It’s one of the aspects of winning they are excited about and look forward to receiving the invitation,’ Rapoport wrote on X.
There had been speculation online the team would skip a Trump meeting, with a number of conservatives such as Megyn Kelly mistakenly slamming the Eagles for the rumored decision.
Now, though, the Eagles appear headed to the Trump White House for the first time, despite previously winning the Lombardi Trophy during his first term.
Responding to rumors of a potential player boycott at the White House in 2018, Trump disinvited the team from the customary visit amid his war with the NFL national anthem protests.
Eagles celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after they won the NFL Super Bowl LIX
President Donald Trump, center, New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson, left, and Ivanka Trump, right, watch the opening ceremonies during Super Bowl LIX
‘The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,’ read a 2018 Trump statement. ‘They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.
‘The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony – one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.’
Now, though, the political calculus surrounding the NFL and the White House appears to have shifted. Only a handful of Eagles players remain in Philadelphia from the 2018 Super Bowl-winning team: Right tackle Lane Johnson, defensive end Brandon Graham, kicker Jake Elliott and long snapper Rick Lovato.
In fact, Johnson already said he hoped to visit Trump in Washington following the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win over the Chiefs.
‘I’d be honored to go, regardless of who the president is, but we’ll see,’ team captain and right tackle Lane Johnson said, as quoted by Sportico. ‘It’s ultimately a team decision. I’ll do what’s best for the team.’
Trump went on to thank Brittany in September for her decision to tap the ‘like’ button twice
The President attended the Eagles’ victory over the Chiefs in New Orleans but left the game early to fly back to his home in Palm Beach, Florida at an estimated cost of somewhere between $8million and $20 million taxpayer dollars.
Curiously, Trump has not yet congratulated the Eagles despite previously toasting the Kansas City Chiefs for their latest Super Bowl berth. He’s also praised Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, the latter of whom ‘liked’ a pair of Trump-related social media posts during the campaign.
‘I want to thank beautiful Brittany Mahomes for so strongly defending me, and the fact that MAGA is the greatest and most powerful Political Movement in the History of our now Failing Country,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social network ahead of his electoral victory over Kamala Harris in November.
The Hunt family, which owns the Chiefs, also has a history of supporting conservative causes.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, on the other hand, has a record of supporting left-leaning politicians, such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, although he previously donated to Republicans George W. Bush and Arlen Specter as well.
