Eagles visit Trump at White House to celebrate Super Bowl LIX win
The Philadelphia Eagles visited President Trump at the White House today to celebrate their Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs. You can watch the full ceremony on the CBS News Philadelphia YouTube channel.
Here's everything you need to know.
When will the Eagles visit the White House?
Mr. Trump met with the team on the South Lawn of the White House at 4 p.m.
Saquon Barkley spotted with Trump before visit
Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley was spotted with Mr. Trump one day before the team was scheduled to visit the White House. The two were seen getting off Marine One at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey.
Mr. Trump told reporters that Barkley is a "nice guy" and that he "wanted to race him," but he decided not to do it.
According to a pool report, Mr. Trump and Barkley took photos with a child in the White House Rose Garden Sunday night. The two then walked into the Oval Office.
On Monday morning, hours before the Eagles are scheduled to visit the White House, Barkley responded to criticism over his golf outing with Mr. Trump.
"Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand," Barkley wrote on X. "Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump!"
Will Jalen Hurts visit the White House?
Jalen Hurts will be among a group of Eagles players not in attendance Monday in what the White House claims were "scheduling conflicts."
Hurts dodged a question when asked if he would be attending the White House last week at the Time 100 gala. Hurts was recently honored on TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie told reporters during the NFL owners meetings that going to the White House to celebrate their second Super Bowl win was an "obvious choice," but he also said it was "optional" for the players.
What to know about Eagles' White House visit
After the Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX, rumors began circulating online that the team declined an invitation to the White House. But that ended up being false.
The White House extended an invitation to the Eagles a few weeks after the Super Bowl, and the team accepted.
In the Super Bowl win, the Birds sacked Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times and prevented a historic three-peat. They also got revenge on the Chiefs after losing Super Bowl LVII two years ago.
Why Eagles didn't visit White House in 2018
Mr. Trump's invitation to the Eagles to the White House this time around is quite a change compared to the last time the Birds won the big game.
After the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in 2018, Philadelphia did not visit the White House. Mr. Trump canceled the visit a day before over a national anthem dispute.
Mr. Trump said some members of the 2018 team "disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart."
The president claimed the Eagles wanted to send a "smaller delegation" to the White House. Sources told CBS News Philadelphia that "less than a handful" of players signed up to meet with the president.
Then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accused the Eagles of pulling a "political stunt" by rescheduling the visit because many of the players wouldn't attend. The White House claimed Mr. Trump would be overseas during the proposed dates.
Several members of that Eagles team, including Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long and Brandon Graham, previously said they would not attend the White House ceremony.
"To me, not going to the White House had nothing to do with the anthem. I said I wasn't going to the White House a long time ago," Long said in June 2018.
Jenkins, who helped create the Players Coalition to fight for racial and social equality, demonstrated by raising his fist during the national anthem. In a 2017 preseason game, Long put his arm around Jenkins during the anthem and said afterward, "I'm here to show support as a White athlete."
The history of the White House championship visits
Sports teams visiting the White House after winning a championship is a tradition that dates back to the 19th century.
According to the White House Historical Association, President Andrew Johnson invited amateur baseball teams, the Brooklyn Atlantics and the Washington Nationals, on Aug. 30, 1865.
Four years later, in 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant invited the first professional sports team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, to the White House.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge hosted the Washington Senators, the first MLB team invited to the White House, after the club won the World Series.
The first NBA team to visit the White House after winning a championship was the Celtics in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy hosted Boston.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan invited the New York Islanders to the White House after the team won the Stanley Cup. The Islanders were the first NHL team to visit.
