Kansas City Chiefs visit President Joe Biden at White House to celebrate Super Bowl win

WASHINGTON — Much like the Kansas City Chiefs, President Joe Biden is hoping to go back-to-back. 

The Chiefs returned to the nation’s capital Friday for the second year in a row, this time to celebrate their Super Bowl 58 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in February. They became the first NFL team in 20 years to repeat as champions and set up a sports-to-politics comparison the president couldn't resist.

“Back to back,” Biden said during his rather brief remarks Friday facing the South Lawn of the White House. “I kind of like that.” 

About 30 Chiefs players, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Tavis Kelce, made the trip. Head coach Andy Reid and several members of his coaching staff, general manager Brett Veach and owner Clark Hunt were also in attendance. 

“The amazing thing about sports is how they can bring a community together …  there's a lot that can divide us today, but for so many of us, sports provide a unifying joy that we all need,” Hunt said. 

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Kelce did his best Barack Obama imitation by donning an oversized tan suit. And the camera-friendly Kelce did not shy away from the presidential podium. 

“My fellow Americans,” Kelce began. “I’m going to be honest President Biden, they told me I’d get tased if I came up here, so I’m going back to my spot.”

(A reporter did shout a question asking Kelce about Taylor Swift’s whereabouts. Kelce seemed nonplussed by the inquiry.) 

The most exciting part of the ceremony was when a group of Chiefs encouraged Biden to put on the Chiefs helmet that sat on a table next to the Lombardi Trophy. The president obliged, and the Chiefs loved it. 

“We got the royal treatment,” Reid told reporters after the ceremony. “Had a nice tour. Listen, I don’t know how many presidents try on your team’s helmet.” 

What made this trip special, Mahomes said, was acting like a tour guide for his teammates who did not have the chance to experience the trip the year prior. He pointed out portraits and furniture he recognized. 

“To be on the stage, you look out and see the Washington monument, it’s a cool moment,” Mahomes said. 

He added: “These are the moments you remember for the rest of your life.”

Biden and the Chiefs kept their conversation to winning another Super Bowl, Mahomes said, and they thanked him for the hospitality. 

Biden also referenced the shooting at the Chiefs’ championship parade that claimed the life of Lisa Lopez-Galvan. 

The team has been hailed for lending a hand to onlookers amid the chaos, and Biden said “this team stepped up again.” 

“We have to do more to stop these shootings before they happen,” Biden added.

Roughly a dozen championship-winning teams at the professional, amateur and international level visit the White House annually. The practice evolved into a tradition throughout the 20th Century but became more formal and common during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Organizations such as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors bucked the trend and boycotted the trip during Donald Trump’s term, and Trump in turn began not extending invitations to teams he was not certain would accept. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted teams’ abilities to make the visit during the end of Trump's presidency and the start of Biden’s term.

Individual players have made the choice to not join their teammates in the past. For example, Michael Jordan once skipped out of a visit to the Clinton White House and instead went golfing. Tom Brady didn’t join the Patriots during their journey to the Trump White House in 2017 citing “personal family matters.”

Kansas City, which won its third Super Bowl in five seasons in February, toured the White House on June 5, 2023. Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes presented Biden with a customary No. 46 jersey (teams typically give the president a jersey with their own corresponding number as president).

“It was pretty eye-opening,” Kelce told reporters last year, “and you can tell (Biden is) in it for the right reasons.”

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who joined the team at the White House, caused a stir earlier this month following his commencement speech at Benedictine College in Kansas. In that address, Butker assailed women’s professional aspirations, LGBTQ+ rights and Biden’s stance on abortion.

Mahomes and Kelce both said the did not agree with the stances Butker espoused during his speech but also said they value him as a teammate, friend and person. Head coach Andy Reid was more unifying, saying everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. Butker said he did not regret his comments in a different speech made last week.

Neither the president nor Butker's teammates referred to the controversy on Friday.

“We look forward to making this an annual trip,” Hunt said. 

Contributing: Karissa Waddick