Carrie Underwood is officially back as the voice of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” but her latest opening has given football fans something new to debate. The country superstar debuted the 2026 edition of the show’s famous anthem on September 13 ahead of the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup, introducing a noticeably harder-rocking sound and a redesigned visual production.
The performance marked Underwood’s 14th consecutive season starring in the “Sunday Night Football” opening. She first assumed the role in 2013, following Faith Hill, and has since become closely associated with NBC’s weekly primetime NFL broadcast. NBC confirmed ahead of the season that Underwood would return once again, but this year’s production was designed to feel different from previous editions.
One point about the new opening has caused some confusion: Underwood did not simply abandon “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” for an unrelated Joan Jett cover. The familiar football anthem itself is a reworking of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” For 2026, NBC leaned much more heavily into those rock-and-roll origins, giving Underwood’s familiar SNF theme a new arrangement inspired by the original song.
That connection stretches back to the early history of the NBC football anthem. “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” uses the music and structure associated with “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” with football-themed lyrics created for the broadcast. Different singers have performed versions of the SNF anthem over the years, and Underwood has fronted it for most of the past decade and a half.
For the 2026 production, NBC decided to make that rock heritage particularly visible. Creative director Tripp Dixon explained that the concept was inspired by Underwood’s well-known enthusiasm for rock music and by the fact that the SNF anthem originated from a rock song. The production team wanted to bring those influences together while maintaining the energy expected from an NFL primetime introduction.
The accompanying video also received a major makeover. Instead of relying on a single performance environment, the new sequence moves Underwood through three different settings: a recording studio, a smaller and more intimate music venue, and finally a large stadium performance. The progression was intended to create the feeling of watching the song grow from the studio into a full-scale rock spectacle.
Underwood herself was enthusiastic about the creative direction. She described the 2026 opening as bringing “Sunday Night Football” into her continuing “rock star fever dream” and said the new version captured both the spirit of the song and the heart of rock and roll. She also called it one of her favorite SNF openings to date.
The new sequence made its full regular-season debut on September 13 before the Cowboys visited the Giants at MetLife Stadium. That matchup provided a major stage for the refreshed opening, especially because Cowboys-Giants remains one of the NFL’s most recognizable divisional rivalries. NBC had announced weeks earlier that the game would serve as the official debut for Underwood’s redesigned 2026 show open.
Once viewers finally saw and heard the finished version, however, the reaction was anything but unanimous. Social-media responses ranged from enthusiastic praise to complaints about the arrangement, vocal mix and overall direction of the new theme. Some viewers welcomed the heavier rock influence and praised Underwood’s performance, while others preferred previous versions of the SNF opening.
Several positive reactions focused on Underwood’s ability to deliver the kind of high-energy performance that has become synonymous with the broadcast. Supportive viewers described the revamped opening as exciting and praised the singer for bringing fresh energy to something that has been part of NFL Sundays for years.
The criticism, meanwhile, was not necessarily directed entirely at Underwood herself. Some viewers took issue with the remix and production choices, arguing that the new arrangement did not work as well as earlier versions. Others complained about how clearly the vocals could be heard within the heavier instrumental mix. The split reaction demonstrated the challenge NBC faces whenever it changes something as familiar as its weekly football introduction.
There had already been signs that fans were divided even before the finished opener aired. When NBC announced Underwood’s return in August, many fans celebrated the news, while some commenters suggested it might eventually be time for another performer to take over the long-running role. Underwood’s longevity means that an entire generation of NFL viewers now associates her voice with the beginning of Sunday night’s marquee game.
That longevity is significant. Underwood has remained the featured performer since 2013 even as the production surrounding her has repeatedly evolved. Costumes, sets, arrangements and visual concepts have changed over the years, allowing NBC to refresh the presentation without completely abandoning one of the most recognizable elements of its football coverage.
The Joan Jett connection is also not new to Underwood’s tenure. In 2019, Jett herself appeared alongside Underwood for an SNF opening celebrating the NFL’s 100th season, bringing the football adaptation directly together with the rock song that inspired it. The 2026 production once again highlights those roots, although this time the emphasis comes through the arrangement and rock-oriented presentation.
For NBC, maintaining a recognizable opening carries considerable value. “Sunday Night Football” has been one of American television’s dominant primetime programs for years, and the theme serves almost like the opening credits of a long-running television series. NBC Sports creative director Dixon has described the introduction as a way of setting the tone for the entire broadcast before the players take over on the field.
Underwood’s return therefore represents both continuity and experimentation. NBC has retained the singer audiences have heard on Sunday nights for more than a decade while changing the production enough to give the 2026 season its own identity. By emphasizing the anthem’s Joan Jett roots, the network has also connected the current version with a musical history that predates Underwood’s involvement.
Whether the rock-heavy version ultimately becomes a fan favorite may take more than one Sunday night to determine. Theme songs that viewers hear repeatedly throughout an NFL season can become more familiar over time, and reactions to a major change are often strongest when audiences first encounter it.
For now, the response remains divided. Some fans are embracing Underwood’s louder, more rock-oriented “Sunday Night Football” era, while others are already missing the sound they had grown accustomed to. Either way, after 14 seasons, Underwood has once again managed to make the moments before Sunday night kickoff a conversation of their own.
