• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 26, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot
exclusive
Media

NFL To Ditch On-Field National Anthem Singers This Season

  • “The Star-Spangled Banner” will still be played in stadiums. But there will be no live pregame performances on the field.
  • Due to COVID-19 concerns, the league could also limit on-field access of military/police honor guards.
Demi Lovato NFL national anthem
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL will ditch live performances of the national anthem before games this season, sources said. Given the abundance of American flag imagery inside stadiums on signs and video boards, the league could also curtail the on-field access of live military and police honor guards.

The objective is to strictly limit the number of people on the sidelines who can potentially infect players and coaches with COVID-19, said sources. By the same token, the league will also crack down on the number of credentialed reporters and photographers with access to the playing field. Given the pandemic, the number of medical personnel on the sidelines will remain the same.

The “Star-Spangled Banner” will still be played before each NFL game, said sources. But the anthem will not be performed live, such as the annual Super Bowl anthem performance most recently sung by Demi Lovato before Super Bowl LIV in February. 

Instead, the league’s 32 teams may ask performers to sing the anthem off-site, then pipe it live inside their stadium, or have singers pre-record the anthem elsewhere, then play their rendition before kickoff. 

The NFL declined to comment.

“This year will be different due to COVID concerns. They want to limit the number of people around the players on the field,” a source said.

The absence of anthem singers, and possibly military and police honor guards, won’t be the only changes inside NFL stadiums this year as the league deals with weighty social justice issues this season. It is also unlikely that fans will be allowed to attend games in several markets, with teams such as the New York Giants, Jets and Philadelphia Eagles already stating fans will not attend this season.

Starting Week 1, NFL players will be able to wear helmet decals bearing the names or initials of George Floyd and other victims of police violence. 

NFL Players To Salute Victims of Police Brutality Via Helmet Tributes

The NFL’s 1,700-plus players will likely be invited to wear helmet decals…
July 21, 2020

Each team will play “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, before each Week 1 game, according to ESPN’s The Undefeated. Teams are also expected to prominently stencil messages such as “End Racism” and “It Takes All Of Us” in end zones during Kickoff Week.

Roughly 70% of NFL players are Black. In June, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell posted a video admitting the league was “wrong” for not listening to players’ peaceful protests earlier after a group of players and league staffers pushed the NFL to make a stronger statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The NFL also pledged to spend $250 million over the next decade to “combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans.” 

The league’s 2020 season kicks off on Sep. 10 with the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Houston Texans.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL Fines 100 Players, Dozens of Team Employees for Super Bowl Ticket..

No individuals have been named in the ongoing investigation yet.

Eagles Turn to Their Fans As They Consider Future Stadium Plans

The defending Super Bowl champions are surveying season-ticket holders.
Christian Wilkins

Raiders Trying to Void $35 Million in Guaranteed Money They Owe 

Christian Wilkins missed most of the 2024 season with a Jones fracture.

Featured Today

Ryan Field Construction
exclusive

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.
Jul 21, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Xander Schauffele celebrates with Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.
July 17, 2025

The Boozy History and Traditions of The Open’s Claret Jug

The Open awards the world’s most famous wine decanter.
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final - Luke Littler vs Michael Van Gerwen
July 16, 2025

A Teen Darts Prodigy Is Becoming Bigger Than the Game Itself

Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is cashing in on his devastatingly accurate shot.
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive
July 13, 2025

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.

CBS Sports to Get New Owner As Skydance Merger Clears FCC Hurdle

The long-awaited, but highly debated, merger gains regulatory approval.
A Peacock sideline reporter holds a microphone with the NBC Peacock logo during Michigan State's football game against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
July 24, 2025

‘Unusual’: NBCU’s Surprise Interest in a New Cable Sports Network

Its previous channel NBCSN was shuttered less than four years ago.
Dec 7, 2024; New York, New York, USA; A general view of Times Square during the MLS Cup Times Square Watch Party prior to the game between the LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls.
July 24, 2025

MLS Reveals Apple TV Streaming Numbers, Raising Questions

The league gives a rare glimpse inside the high-profile streaming pact.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 23, 2025

‘ACC Huddle’ Joins College Football’s TV Road-Show Race

This season, “ACC Huddle” will broadcast from the conference’s weekly marquee game.
Jul 20, 2025; Portrush, IRL; Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the Claret Jug after winning the 153rd Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Portrush.
July 22, 2025

Scheffler Pushes The Open to Largest Audience Since 2022 at St Andrews

McIlroy’s Masters victory in April remains the highest-rated major of 2025.
WNBA
July 22, 2025

WNBA All-Star Ratings Dip From Clark High, Still 52% Over Old Record

Caitlin Clark did not play due to a groin injury.
Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view of the ESPN Monday night Football logo during the first half of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
July 21, 2025

NFL Owners Told to Prep for Potential Disney Media Deal Vote

A sale of NFL media assets could finally happen after four years.