Could the Eagles spurn Donald Trump—again?
Front Office Sports asked Philadelphia owner Jeffrey Lurie about the possibility Monday night and deflected.
“I just want to win Sunday,” Lurie said.
If his team wins, it will go from a question to the question. The sides have history.
When the Eagles won the Super Bowl in February 2018, the White House canceled the team’s visit after most players decided they wouldn’t go. ESPN reported at the time that as few as five players were planning to visit the Trump White House, with “most” Black players on the team skipping the visit over Trump’s attacks on players who were kneeling during the national anthem. (Eagles players were not among them, with Malcolm Jenkins and others opting to raise a fist during the anthem instead.)
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in a statement then. “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.”
Only four players from that title team remain in Philadelphia: tackle Lane Johnson, kicker Jake Elliott, long snapper Rick Lovato, and defensive end Brandon Graham, whose famous strip sack of Tom Brady sealed the win.
The Eagles weren’t the only team to have their White House invite rescinded during Trump’s first term. He also uninvited the Golden State Warriors in 2017 after Steph Curry and multiple teammates said they wouldn’t attend.
Florida Panthers went to the White House today. Here at Super Bowl media night @KaplanSportsBiz just asked Eagles owner Jeff Lurie if the Eagles will visit the White House if they win.
— Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) February 4, 2025
Lurie laughed and took a beat and said "I just want to win on Sunday." pic.twitter.com/Slw7jAHH4t
Trump attacked Curry on Twitter, which led LeBron James to defend Curry by calling Trump a “bum.”
The White House and NFL did not respond to requests for comment.
Lurie has criticized Trump behind closed doors and has largely backed Democrats, although he had not donated to a presidential candidate as of Oct. 17, 2024, according to federal records. Lurie and Saquon Barkley both played golf shortly before the election with former President Barack Obama.
Amid the kneeling controversy, Lurie was recorded at an NFL owners meeting calling the Trump Administration “disastrous,” according to The New York Times.
“Many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump,” Lurie said. “Yes, there are some. There are some players who do, too.”
His counterparts in Kansas City appear to be a bit warmer to Trump. Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, has supported Trump on social media in the past, and kicker Harrison Butker endorsed the president’s campaign in the fall. The Chiefs could not visit the White House after their Super Bowl win in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and they visited the Biden White House after their wins the last two years.
Trump will be at the game Sunday and conducting a pretaped interview with Fox News.
On Monday, Trump hosted the Stanley Cup–winning Florida Panthers at the White House. He compared the team’s comeback after losing the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 to his own political return after losing the 2020 election. He didn’t touch on Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“You gave the fans one of the most riveting comebacks in NHL history, in any sport history,” Trump said. “I don’t know anything about a comeback, but they tell me it’s very nice.”
