Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at Thursday’s NFL Honors in Las Vegas, but he won’t stay in Sin City long enough to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl, Page Six is told.
Harry, 39, stunned onlookers at the Thursday evening gala, where he presented the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward.
We’re told that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asked the Duke of Sussex to the event in Las Vegas.
And while it obviously would’ve been easy for Harry to stay in town for this week’s big game, we’re told he nor his wife, Meghan Markle, will be attending Super Bowl LVIII, as they are busy preparing for their trip to Canada for their Invictus Games opening event next week.
Harry is a sports fan and previously attended the Super Bowl with his cousin Princess Eugenie back in 2022.
There were rumors the Sussexes might attend the game as guests of their friends and neighbors — Paramount CEO Brian Robbins and his fashion designer wife, Tracy — because they flew aboard the Paramount private jet to Jamaica last month for the premiere of the Bob Marley biopic, “One Love.”
Both Paramount and CBS — which are airing the Super Bowl — are subsidiaries of National Amusements, Inc.
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Harry’s appearance at Thursday’s NFL event went down a storm as he made gags about American football and left Heyward in awe.
“Man, Prince freaking Harry. Man, I’m in shock. That’s Prince Harry,” the sports star said when he came up on stage.
During his speech, Harry took the chance to make fun of the sport, telling the crowd: “Good evening, NFL. It’s an honor to be with you all tonight. I really love how you stole rugby from us and you made it your own.”
“Instead of passing it backwards, just pass it forwards. Why not wear pads and a helmet? Of course, have an offense and defense, that makes sense,” the dad of two added.
“And why not take a breather every 15 seconds? And you know what, instead of a 10-month season, let’s just make it 18 weeks. Genius.”
Harry made the appearance just hours after making his trans-Atlantic dash back to the UK to see his cancer-stricken father, King Charles, for just 45 minutes.
Goodell — who’s worth an estimated $250 million — is well aware of the value of a celebrity name and how it impacts football.
The football league always invites celebs to the NFL Honors; last year’s guests included Issa Rae, Gayle King, Janelle Monáe and Justin Hartley.
Speaking on Monday, Goodell, 64, admitted he was thrilled by Taylor Swift boosting viewers this season amid her romance with Travis Kelce.
“Having the Taylor Swift effect is also a positive,” he said. “She knows great entertainment, and I think that’s why she loves NFL football. Besides Travis, she’s a football fan.”
“Listen, both Travis and Taylor are wonderful young people. They seem very happy.”