After a viral report claimed that the Philadelphia Eagles would not travel to the White House in celebration of their victory in Super Bowl 59, team sources and White House officials have now refuted the false claim and clarified their intentions.
Eagles ‘Would Be Honored’ to Visit the White House
In stark contrast to the initial report from The Sun, which claimed that the Eagles intended to deny a visit to the White House and refuse a meeting with President Donald Trump, team and White House officials have pushed back against the rumors, stating that the team has yet to be officially invited but will indeed visit the White House.
“…A White House official granted anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks confirmed to POLITICO that the report is false, and that the team had not rejected an invitation,” POLITICO reported. “The White House has not sent an official invitation to the Super Bowl LIX winner, the official confirmed.”
“We would be honored to visit the White House,” a team source told SI’s Albert Breer. “It’s one of the things we had looked forward to doing and we look forward to receiving the invitation.”
Re: The @Eagles visiting the White House, a team source texted me, “We would be honored to visit the White House. It’s one of the things we had looked forward to doing and we look forward to receiving the invitation.”
(Reports or tweets or whatever earlier indicated otherwise.)
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 24, 2025
It is still to be determined if the entire locker room is on board with the White House visit.
While team officials clarified that the organization hasn’t denied an invitation, the report doesn’t mention individual players, who could still choose to opt out of the visit.
“Individual players can, and have (see: 2018), make their own decisions about whether to attend but any report about the Eagles’ organization declining an invite is not accurate,” posted NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Individual players can, and have (see: 2018), make their own decisions about whether to attend but any report about the #Eagles’ organization declining an invite is not accurate. https://t.co/8xYKyPhNmt
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 24, 2025
President Trump and the Eagles Have History
Following the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl victory in 2018, President Trump canceled the team’s scheduled White House visit after a group of players, led by Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long, backed out of the event due to their opposition to the President’s stance against kneeling for the national anthem.
President Trump had previously urged team owners to fire players who didn’t stand for the anthem, and many athletes took issue with his open vitriol towards their protest for racial and social justice.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. 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 President said in a statement.
“The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”
Only four players remain from the 2017 Eagles team: Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham, Jake Elliot, and Rick Lovato. According to Johnson, the Eagles will make a decision as a team.
“I’d be honored to go, regardless of who the president is, but we’ll see. It’s ultimately a team decision. I’ll do what’s best for the team,” Johnson, the team captain, said in an interview with Sportico.
Reading the tea leaves, the report from Eagles officials that Philadelphia would be honored to visit the White House seems to indicate that a team decision has been made and that the team will meet with President Trump at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to continue the longtime tradition and celebrate their Super Bowl 59 victory.