When did the NFL start playing the national anthem at football games?

The national anthem has been a staple of the professional sports industry and was first played before NFL games starting back in the 1941-1942 NFL season. Since the 1941-42 season, the National Football League has made it a tradition to play the national anthem before every game.

A number of the top musicians in history have performed the national anthem live for NFL fans at the Super Bowl. It has become a tradition in the NFL to assign national anthem duties to the top performers in the music industry.

Major League Baseball became the first professional sport to make it a standard to play the national anthem.

With the United States of America being in World War II, the NFL joined the MLB in making it a standard to play the national anthem before every NFL game. Let's take a look at which top music artists have performed the national anthem for the NFL in the past.

Which famous musicians have sung the national anthem at NFL games?

2005 NFC Championship Game - Carrie Underwood sings the national anthem

A number of top musicians have performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl for the NFL. Some of the biggest names in the music industry signed on to perform at the biggest game of the year. The Super Bowl is full of amazing events with the national anthem, the commercials, Super Bowl halftime show and the game itself.

Carrie Underwood | Superbowl 44 | National Anthem [2010] pic.twitter.com/KEuEfDRWmR

— 🌟OutstandingUnderwood🌟 (@CMU1983) February 5, 2018

The Super Bowl is not the only game where the NFL has live performances of the national anthem. Both NFC and AFC conference championship games generally have live performances of the national anthem as well. Let's take a look at who has performed the national anthem before the last twelve NFL Super Bowls.

Recent national anthem performances:

-- Super Bowl XLIV: Carrie Underwood

-- Super Bowl XLV: Christina Aguilera

-- Super Bowl XLVI: Kelly Clarkson

-- Super Bowl XLVII: Alicia Keys

-- Super Bowl XLVIII: Renee Fleming

-- Super Bowl XLIX: Idina Menzel

-- Super Bowl 50: Lady Gaga

-- Super Bowl LI: Luke Bryan

-- Super Bowl LII: Pink

-- Super Bowl LIII: Gladys Knight

-- Super Bowl LIV: Demi Lovato

-- Super Bowl LV: Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church

.@jsullivanmusic and @ericchurch sing the National Anthem ahead of #SBLV! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dnhOTrHKfW

— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2021

The national anthem is a legendary part of any NFL pregame ceremony, as it signals a sense of unity before the action on the field gets underway and the fans go back to being divided for those 60 minutes.