The NFL has leaned into its cultural influence to position football as a unifying force in a divided time. According to Tim Ellis, the NFL’s chief marketing officer, the league wanted to “take the pulse of the nation” and embrace its role as “a uniter,” with football at the center of the effort. “I think most people would agree that football is the last big tent in America, and that we do have the power to unite and bring people together on a massive scale, and that influence and that power is both a gift and a responsibility.”

In 2024, it launched the “This Is Football Country” campaign, reframing the sport as one of America’s last big-tent rituals—something that still brings people together across backgrounds and beliefs.

The message of unity deepened in 2025 with the Super Bowl-opening tribute, “Huddle Up,” narrated by Brad Pitt—a cinematic call for resilience and togetherness, not just on the field, but in facing the broader challenges confronting the country.

During the segment, Pitt emphasized the strength found in shared purpose, stating, “when we are bound by a common goal, we’ve reached heights, authored achievements, pushed progress. Not alone, but together. In ways that have lifted the world and one another.”

He continued, “the huddle is a metaphor for our history, for the power found in our shared purpose. It’s in our collective spirit, not just in the highest times, but in the hardest, in the darkness and the trouble and the struggle.” That same line echoed moments later, accompanied by voiceovers of newscasters reporting on Hurricane Helene and wildfires in Los Angeles: “It's in our collective spirit, not just in the highest times, but in the hardest, in the darkness and the trouble and the struggle.” Pitt added, “It's there in our unity that we form hope and find strength.”

Shifting focus to game day, Pitt asked, “Isn't that union at the core of this day, and this glorious, chaotic, exasperating experiment that is us? As we convene with our circles today, as we witness a piece of our culture play out, we honor the way these players compete, so their teams might prevail. Today, we celebrate the urgency of now, the thrill of what's next, the glory of this game, and we do it as one.”