Carrie Underwood brought a fiery rock edge to her Sunday Night Football return, delivering a high-energy anthem as critics renewed calls for her exit.
Carrie Underwood is giving her critics plenty to talk about after delivering a fiery new version of the Sunday Night Football anthem.
The country superstar returned to NBC’s NFL broadcast Sunday for her 14th consecutive season, unveiling a revamped, rock-inspired performance that brought a noticeably harder edge to the iconic opening.
While some NFL fans continued to criticize Underwood’s long-running role, the singer appeared completely unfazed, leaning into the rock-star energy of the new production.
Carrie Underwood turns up the heat
Underwood’s latest Sunday Night Football performance marked a significant change from previous seasons.
The 2026 version draws more heavily from the rock roots of the song, which originated with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” NBC’s creative team said it wanted to connect that classic rock influence with Underwood’s own love of the genre.
The result was a high-energy performance featuring Underwood across a recording studio, an intimate music venue and a packed stadium setting.
Underwood has described the new version as one of her favorite Sunday Night Football openings.
Critics still aren’t backing down
The performance did not silence the critics.
Some NFL viewers renewed calls for NBC to replace Underwood, with social media reactions ranging from complaints about the new arrangement to calls for the network to move on from the country superstar.
That criticism has become something of a recurring storyline surrounding Underwood’s role on Sunday Night Football. She has remained the face of the show’s opening since 2013, meaning the 2026 season marks her 14th consecutive year in the role.
But the latest backlash also highlights just how recognizable Underwood has become as part of the NFL’s Sunday-night television tradition.
Underwood embraces the rock makeover
Rather than simply repeating the familiar formula, NBC chose to give the performance a fresh identity for 2026.
The production team said the new opening was inspired by Underwood’s well-known appreciation for rock music and the original rock-and-roll foundation of the anthem.
Underwood has also embraced the change, calling the new production part of her “rock star fever dream” and praising the team behind the revamped opening.
That enthusiasm was evident in the performance itself.
14 years of Sunday Night Football
Underwood’s longevity with Sunday Night Football is difficult to ignore.
She first took over the opening in 2013 and has remained associated with NBC’s flagship NFL broadcast ever since. Her latest appearance came ahead of the Cowboys-Giants matchup that opened NBC’s 2026 Sunday-night schedule.
NBC has also benefited from the continuity. The network’s press materials note that Sunday Night Football finished the 2025-26 television season as primetime’s No. 1 show for an unprecedented 15th consecutive year.
Whether viewers love or hate the performance, Underwood remains one of the most recognizable elements of the broadcast.
The debate isn’t going away
The reaction to Underwood’s latest performance shows that the debate surrounding her Sunday Night Football role remains very much alive.
Some fans want a new voice and a completely different presentation. Others have embraced Underwood as part of the identity of Sunday-night NFL football.
The 2026 version appears designed to address at least some of that fatigue by changing the sound and visual presentation without changing the singer at the center of it.
For Underwood, that may be the biggest takeaway from the latest controversy.
The critics are still talking, but so is the performance.
And after 14 consecutive seasons, Carrie Underwood remains firmly planted at the center of Sunday Night Football — whether her biggest fans or loudest detractors like it or not.
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