Football

2/3/2026 |  Don’t tune into the Super Bowl hoping for a break from politics (Associated Press (AP)) WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t tune into the Super Bowl hoping for a break from the tumultuous politics gripping the U.S.
The NFL is facing pressure ahead of Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots to take a more explicit stance against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. More than 184,000 people have signed a petition calling on the league to denounce the potential presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Super Bowl, which is being held at Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area. The liberal group MoveOn plans to deliver the petition to the NFL’s New York City headquarters on Tuesday.

2/3/2026 |  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says expanding the regular season to 18 games is ‘not a given’ (Associated Press (AP)) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Not so fast on an 18-game NFL season.
A week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft made it seem inevitable, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said expanding the regular season to 18 games is “not a given.”
“We have not had any formal discussions about it and, frankly, very little, if any, informal conversations,” Goodell said Monday at his annual state of the NFL news conference ahead of the Super Bowl. “I’ve heard people talk about it in the context. It is not a given that we will do that. It’s not something we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership.”

2/3/2026 |  NFL says it will look into Giants co-owner Steve Tisch’s association with Jeffrey Epstein (Associated Press (AP)) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The NFL will look into New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and his association with Jeffrey Epstein after his name showed up more than 400 times in files released by the U.S. Justice Department regarding Epstein.

2/3/2026 |  Patriots and Seahawks kick off Super Bowl festivities with a quieter, calmer, tamer Opening Night (Associated Press (AP)) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Maybe the game itself will live up to the hype, because Super Bowl Opening Night was calmer than usual.

Drake Maye and the New England Patriots (17-3) take on Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks (16-3) on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

The media frenzy that kicks off the week’s festivities on Monday night was smaller, quieter and far less outrageous than recent years.

2/3/2026 |  NFL to Reevaluate Rooney Rule After One Minority Coach Hired This Cycle (Athletic Business) NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that he believes all 10 teams with head coaching vacancies this hiring cycle exceeded the Rooney Rule's requisite two interviews of minority candidates, but also that the league would take a closer a look at the rule and all that it encompasses to "continue to make progress" on diversity.