The National Football League left it to individual clubs to decide whether to stage pre-game tributes on Sunday for Charlie Kirk, and five home teams did not hold a moment of silence while many others did. The Bengals, Lions, Ravens, Colts and Vikings were among the 13 clubs hosting games that had no in-stadium minute’s silence specifically for Kirk, according to game-day rundowns from the league’s broadcast partners and team communications. Other home teams, including the Cowboys, Dolphins, Saints, Jets, Titans, Chiefs and Cardinals, observed a period of silence or otherwise marked his death before kickoff. A league-directed moment of silence had already been held at Thursday night’s game at Lambeau Field.
The arrangement reflected a two-step approach. On Thursday, the league made the decision centrally and asked the stadium to pause for “silent reflection” following the killing of Kirk the previous day. For Sunday’s fixtures, the NFL said individual teams would determine how to proceed. “Last night’s moment was the league’s decision,” the league said in guidance circulated to media on Friday. “It’s up to the clubs for this Sunday’s games.” The note referenced prior practice of holding tributes after events that rise to a national level, including shootings, natural disasters and other major incidents.
By kickoff of the early window, club-level decisions produced a patchwork. In Cincinnati, Detroit and Baltimore, there was no minute’s silence specific to Kirk before play began. In Arlington, Miami Gardens, East Rutherford, Nashville and New Orleans, stadiums paused for a tribute; in several of those venues, public-address scripts broadened the moment to include references to the September 11 anniversary or to victims of gun violence. A later slate added two more tributes in Kansas City and Glendale and a non-observance in Indianapolis, completing the list of five clubs without a Kirk-specific silence across the 13 home games played on Sunday.
The decision by Minnesota not to stage a separate silence at U.S. Bank Stadium had been signalled ahead of their evening kickoff. The club informed reporters it had already committed its pre-game recognition to victims of the Annunciation Church & School shooting in south Minneapolis and would proceed with that plan. The Steelers, who were also at home, lowered stadium flags to half-staff and conducted a pre-planned in-stadium remembrance for former player Craig Wolfley; some national roundups nonetheless counted Pittsburgh among teams that “recognized” Kirk, while others restricted their lists to clubs that staged an explicit minute’s silence.