Donald Trump condemns 'dangerous' NFL rule as he prepares to create history at Super Bowl 2025
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has voiced his disapproval of the NFL's controversial kickoff rule as he prepares to attend the Super Bowl Sunday as the first sitting president to ever watch the NFL's major game in person.
Trump will become the first sitting president of the United States to attend a Super Bowl on Sunday, February 9, in person when the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, Louisiana.
President Donald Trump criticizes NFL's controversial kickoff rule
The 47th US president used his Truth Social account to applaud the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Friday.
Trump also discussed his opinions of the NFL's dynamic kickoff rule, which was put into effect in 2024 and aimed to minimize injuries by reducing high-speed collisions and rewarding returns.
"Two great Quarterbacks in this game. Also, an unbelievable running back, and the absolute best tight end in football (Ever!). Incredible coaching," Trump wrote.
He continued, "If they would only get rid of that really weird looking new Kickoff ‘deal,’ which actually makes football more dangerous, they would be doing everybody, especially the fans, a big favor."
"ANYWAY, IT WILL BE A GREAT GAME!!! I’ll be doing the interview, before the game, at 3:00 P.M. There hasn’t been one in four years (Gee, I wonder why?)," Trump concluded.
The new kickoff rule, which was put into place before the 2024 season, initially appears strange with the kicker alone at his 35-yard line and his 10 covering players lined up at the opposition's 40-yard line, per The Independent.
The "setup zone" between the 30 and 35-yard lines is occupied by at least nine blockers on the return team, with at least seven of them making contact with the 35-yard line. The 20-yard line can include up to two returners.
The receiving team may choose to touch back and take possession at the 30-yard line, or they may return any kick that reaches the end zone in the air. A kick that goes out of bounds or out of the end zone while in the air will also result in a touchback at the 30-yard line.
The Chiefs will play the Eagles in the title game for the second time in the past two years on Sunday. The Chiefs also have the opportunity to create NFL history if they win the championship for the third consecutive year.
President Trump does not reveal team he's rooting for in Super Bowl
Trump seemed to hint at his potential team of choice for the big game earlier this week. Reporters in the Oval Office asked the president which team he wanted to win the Super Bowl, to which Trump said, "I don't wanna say."
"But there’s a certain quarterback that seems to be a pretty good winner," he added, seemingly referencing Patrick Mahomes, the top quarterback for the Chiefs, per Fox News.
Trump also congratulated Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, on the birth of their third child, who was born on January 12.
Although Trump is ostensibly neutral in Sunday's game, it seems that he has a tense past with the Eagles that goes back to his first White House term.
Moreover, former president Joe Biden, who was born in Pennsylvania and has lived in neighboring Delaware for almost his entire life, has also long supported the Eagles.
Donald Trump has lengthy and complicated history with football
Trump and the National Football League got into a heated argument during his first term in office when Black players began to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem in protest of racial injustice.
Most famously, Trump reportedly invested in the fledgling United States Football League in the 1980s in an attempt to directly compete with the NFL—a move that was largely viewed as contributing to the league's demise, per Reuters.
In 1983, the USFL's New Jersey Generals were acquired by Trump, who was then a real estate developer in New York.
Trump eventually took the lead in a USFL antitrust case against the NFL. The USFL prevailed in the trial, but it was a pyrrhic win because the jury only gave one dollar in damages. Days later, the USFL called off its 1986 season, essentially putting an end to its existence.
