Tom Cruise Kicks Off 2025 Super Bowl with Dramatic Message About the Chiefs and Eagles

"I look closely at these fierce competitors and I don't see fear or hesitation," the 'Mission: Impossible' star said

FOX Tom Cruise speaks at the start of the 2025 Super Bowl

FOX

Tom Cruise speaks at the start of the 2025 Super Bowl

Tom Cruise brought his star power to the 2025 Super Bowl.

The actor, 62, delivered a dramatic message to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in a prerecorded video that aired during the opening of the Big Game on Sunday, Feb. 9.

The video showed Cruise standing in a room with multiple large screens playing clips of the two football teams throughout history. "Tonight in New Orleans, we encounter a mission that doesn’t come along very often," he said. "Standing in front of this final act, knowing that the long winding road here, has all led to this."

"Everything this sport has seen and done, every first, every mountain climbed, every seemingly impossible conquered," the Mission: Impossible star continued. "Yet there’s always another accomplishment never achieved, there’s always new heights waiting to be reached. Stepping into the unknown, being first, that comes with unbelievable pressure."

NFL on FOX/Instagram Tom Cruise delivers a message at the 2025 Super Bowl

NFL on FOX/Instagram

Tom Cruise delivers a message at the 2025 Super Bowl

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Speaking of the two teams, Cruise said, "But I look closely at these fierce competitors and I don't see fear or hesitation. I see the very best in the world. Men who have worked and dedicated their entire lives for today."

Various clips of the Kansas City football team played as he continued speaking. "When the Chiefs take the field today, they aren't walking in someone else's footsteps. Their hearts are set on reaching further, soaring higher than any team ever has. A third consecutive Super Bowl title — an achievement this league has never seen before,” he said.

As for the Eagles, he called the team "a Goliath that is imposed on will, their speed, their strength, on anyone and everyone who's gotten in the way." Cruise added, "The mission is clear, win here and be remembered forever. The Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles, one last game on this iconic stage to challenge the impossible. To say goodbye to never and forever be known as a world champion. Welcome to Super Bowl 59."

NFL on FOX/Instagram Tom Cruise delivers a message at the 2025 Super Bowl

NFL on FOX/Instagram

Tom Cruise delivers a message at the 2025 Super Bowl

Cruise's video was dramatic, but not his most daring feat. In September 2024, the actor made a grand entrance at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games closing ceremony. He pulled off a major skydiving stunt at the sporting event that saw him swinging from atop Stade de France before touching down on the stadium’s field.

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The actor, long known for doing his own action sequences, greeted athletes as he walked toward the stage, accompanied by some shredding guitar courtesy of H.E.R., who had sung the American national anthem.

The actor then received the Olympic flag from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and gymnast Simone Biles before he heroically strapped it to the back of a motorcycle and rode off into the sunset.

Cruise, meanwhile, has a busy year ahead of him as his upcoming movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, hits theaters on May 23 – nearly two years after its predecessor. The franchise has spanned almost three decades with the hit original having premiered in 1996.

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PHIL NOBLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France on Aug. 11, 2024

PHIL NOBLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France on Aug. 11, 2024

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In a recent interview with Empire, Cruise and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie avoided directly addressing whether the film will cap off the story following Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt. "You gotta see the movie," the actor told the outlet, when he and McQuarrie were asked whether The Final Reckoning will actually be his final Mission: Impossible movie.

"It’s a hard thing for me to discuss at the moment, because it really is something that you have to experience," Cruise said. He also described the new movie as "an epic, emotional journey of the entire franchise."

Cruise is among many celebrities who have come out for the Super Bowl, including Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper, and Jay-Z and his daughters. Viewers can expect more A-list entertainment in the form of Taylor Swift cameos, star-studded commercials and a highly-anticipated halftime performance from Kendrick Lamar and guest SZA.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles are facing off in the 2025 Super Bowl, airing on Fox on Sunday, Feb. 9.

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