Did Philadelphia Eagles decline Trump White House visit? As of Feb. 24, no invite was made

Supporters of President Donald Trump expressed outrage on social media this week as his critics expressed delight, both sides believing the Philadelphia Eagles rejected a White House invite to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"The Philadelphia Eagles have declined their invitation to the White House," a Feb. 23 Instagram post said. The post went on: "Discussions between Eagles players and their front office resulted in a ‘massive no’ when asked if they would accept an invite to the White House to meet President Donald Trump."

We found multiple social media posts saying the team declined a White House invite, prompting a spectrum of reactions including support, disappointment and anger. Conservative podcaster and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly on X expressed regret for rooting for the Eagles on her husband’s behalf.

The Instagram post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

But it appears those who engaged in social media chatter for and against the Eagles and a White House invitation spoke too soon. As of Feb. 24, a White House invitation had yet to be sent to the team.

A White House official told PolitiFact in an email that the Eagles did not reject an invitation, pointing us to an X post from conservative commentator Clay Travis, who said the White House had not yet sent an invitation.

Kelly backtracked in a reply to her X post after hearing of the White House’s denial, writing, "Could be (hopefully?) fake news!"

The Eagles didn’t immediately return a request for comment. There is no statement on the team’s social media accounts or website about accepting or rejecting a White House invite, and we did not find examples of team spokespeople addressing the possibility in news coverage.

The claims stem from an article dated Feb. 9, the day of the Super Bowl, in the U.S. Sun, the digital U.S. edition of the British tabloid newspaper. A story labeled, "SUPER SNUB" said that discussions before the game between players and the front office "resulted in a ‘massive no’ when asked if they would accept an invitation to the nation’s capital."

Eagles player Lane Johnson, the team’s captain and offensive right tackle, told the website Sportico Feb. 10 that a decision to visit the White House would be "a team decision."

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Photo shows Black Hawk helicopter pilot in fatal crash worked for years with President Joe Biden at the White House.

It’s possible the Eagles may turn down a White House invite, if and when it’s offered, as the team and Trump, who predicted a Chiefs victory in the Super Bowl, have a history.

In 2018, Trump said he canceled a visit by the Eagles after their Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots, writing on X that "only a small number of players decided to come." He said it was related to Eagles players kneeling during the national anthem.

ESPN reported in 2018 that team owner Jeffrey Lurie, former head coach Doug Pederson and a handful of Eagles players were planning to attend. Most of the team’s Black players planned to skip the visit, ESPN said, quoting unnamed sources.

It’s possible the team had reached an internal decision on how to respond to a Trump White House invite, but the team has not publicly shared that. And the White House said an invitation hasn’t been sent.

We will continue to monitor the situation. But so far, claims that the Eagles declined a White House invitation seem premature. We rate them False.