The Philadelphia Eagles will be heading to the White House at the invitation of President Donald Trump to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last month.
“We sent the invite and they enthusiastically accepted. We are working with them to determine a date and logistics,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.
A team spokesperson also confirmed to Fox News Digital that “the Philadelphia Eagles organization has accepted an invitation to visit the White House and is currently working on scheduling a date and logistics.”
There were questions about whether the Eagles would accept an invitation after not doing so in 2018, but Trump told The Spectator late last month that the team would be visiting this time around.
“They’re coming here. Philadelphia is coming here,” Trump told the outlet.
Trump also announced the invite to the team last month.
EAGLES TO RECEIVE WHITE HOUSE INVITE AFTER SUPER BOWL LIX WIN, TRUMP SAYS
“They will be [invited]. We haven’t yet, but we will be,” said Trump, who was in the Caesars Superdome to watch the Eagles beat the Chiefs, 40-22. “I thought it was a great performance by them. Absolutely, they’ll be extended an invitation. We’ll do it right away. We’ll do it some time today. They deserve to be down here, and we hope to see them.”
Eagles captain Lane Johnson said a White House visit would be a “team decision” after they won the Super Bowl.
“I’d be honored to go, regardless of who the president is, but we’ll see,” Johnson said via Sportico’s Eric Jackson. “It’s ultimately a team decision. I’ll do what’s best for the team.”
Johnson, who has spent all 12 of his NFL seasons with the franchise, was on the team when it won the organization’s first-ever Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2018, defeating the New England Patriots.
However, controversy ensued that year when Trump rescinded his invitation to the Eagles as some players said they wouldn’t visit the White House due to the then-45th president’s criticism of those who kneeled or raised their fists during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
Trump released a statement at the time regarding his invitation cancellation, saying that “the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”
“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,” Trump’s statement read seven years ago.
Seven years later, both parties are ready to celebrate a different win.
As both sides noted, time and logistics must be worked out as next steps to making the visit.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
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