Will Eagles Go to the White House After 2025 Super Bowl Win? Questions Linger After 2017
There's tension between Donald Trump and the Eagles, so what happens next is a little unclear.
Published Feb. 10 2025, 3:49 p.m. ET
The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl 59. But they didn't just win by a hair, or win a little bit. They came roaring from the shadows of "unlikely winners" to smash the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. It was an eye-popping game that helped dismantle what the Chiefs had hoped would be a three-in-a-row win record for Super Bowls.
Now that they've made history and added another win to their modest Super Bowl record, all eyes are on what the team will do to celebrate. Traditionally, winning teams are hosted at the White House by the sitting president who enjoys a photo op with some winners and serves them an impressive meal.
But things may not be so straightforward with the Eagles, who have declined an offer from President Donald Trump before. Will the Eagles go to the White House in 2025? Here's what we know.
Will the Eagles go to the White House in 2025 after skipping in 2017?
After bringing home the big trophy, there are usually two things on the docket for a Super Bowl-winning team: Disney World and the White House. You just won the Super Bowl, so where are you going next?
It's a good question for the Eagles.
After the 2017 season, they declined an invite from Trump to attend the White House. We'll get to the "why" behind that decision in a moment. But it has people curious about what they'll choose to do after the 2024 season now that they have another high-profile win to celebrate.
So far, we don't have a solid answer, per USA Today. Trump has not mentioned whether he will or will not invite them, and the Eagles have been mum on the subject since their win.
However, there are two things to note: Trump would usually have congratulated the winning team by now, and he's been conspicuously quiet on that front. Additionally, he picked the Chiefs to win and left before the game ended when it became apparent that his pick would be getting trounced.
The Eagles did not attend the White House after their 2017 win, and here's what they had to say about it.
When he picked the Chiefs to win, Trump said that the team's quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, was at the root of his reasoning although he did not identify Patrick by name. He explained, “The quarterback really knows how to win. He’s a great, great quarterback," per USA Today.
However, there's a good chance that Trump's pick of the Chiefs goes beyond respect for their quarterback.
Back at the conclusion of the 2017 season, the Eagles had just scored their first Super Bowl win in recent history. But the Eagles declined the traditional invite to the White House. At the time, Trump had been making comments suggesting that players should be forced to stand for the national anthem, while San Francisco 49ers player at the time Colin Kaepernick had just launched a movement of players kneeling during the anthem in protest of racism and violence against Black people the year prior.
Per USA Today, the team discussed their options, and nearly all of the players decided they would not attend. So instead, they sent a delegation of fewer than 10 players to the White House.
At the time, Trump released a statement reacting to the decision: "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."
He added, "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."
The Eagles released their own statement, opting to focus on their win and avoid political comments altogether. It read, "It has been incredibly thrilling to celebrate our first Super Bowl Championship. Watching the entire Eagles community come together has been an inspiration. We are truly grateful for all of the support we have received and we are looking forward to continuing our preparations for the 2018 season," per ESPN.
Whether or not the tension will be repeated in 2025 remains to be seen. But given the fact that neither party seems interested in bridging the gap between them, it may be a fair guess to assume that the Eagles won't attend in full once again.