Biden invites Super Bowl champs Buccaneers to White House

WASHINGTON – Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their iconic leader Tom Brady got an invitation Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) to the White House, though it's far from certain when they'll be able to come — or if they'll accept.

"We look forward to inviting the Buccaneers, as well as the 2020 NBA champions, the Lakers, to the White House," President Joe Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters.

However she added a big caveat: the visit will be "when it is Covid-safe, but I don't know when that will take place yet."

Biden took office last month after defeating Donald Trump with a campaign that rested heavily on his promise to bring new seriousness to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic — including restrictions on public gatherings and travel.

Curbs on a large group of NFL players coming up from Tampa Bay, Florida, aren't the only one reason the long traditional invite for champion sports teams to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is up in the air.

White House visits became political minefields for high-profile sports teams in the era of Trump, who has been friendly with Brady for years.

The Kansas City Chiefs — losers to the Buccaneers this Sunday (Monday in Manila) — were no-shows after being invited by Trump to Washington on winning last year's championship.

The Philadelphia Eagles were disinvited by Trump in 2018 over anti-racism protests by players, who knelt during the playing of the national anthem.

And the New England Patriots, who won multiple Super Bowls with Brady before he switched to the Buccaneers, didn't make the trip in 2019.

Brady, who at 43 years old has shattered just about every possible NFL record, has courted controversy for his connections to Trump.

A red Trump campaign hat inscribed "Make American Great Again" was photographed sitting prominently in Brady's locker in 2015, when the New York real estate tycoon was running for president.

Brady subsequently sought to distance himself from political support for Trump but has said they are friends and often golfed together.