Carrie Underwood will return to perform the Sunday Night Football opening theme for the 2026 NFL season, unveiling a new version with a stronger rock influence. The change matters because it refreshes an established television sports anthem after 13 years of Underwood fronting the programme’s opening.

A teaser shows Underwood in a glittering outfit, while she described the production as part of her “rock star fever dream”. The revamped theme draws on her longstanding interest in rock music and on the song’s origins in Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You”; the season begins on 13 September with the Dallas Cowboys playing the New York Giants on NBC and Peacock.