The 2020 Super Bowl will now include a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.
According to reporters present at a Super Bowl press conference in Miami on Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the organization is planning to honor the late basketball star during football's biggest night. No further details were given about the tribute.
The Super Bowl will mark one week since the fatal crash that claimed the lives of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri Altobelli, their daughter Alyssa Altobelli (who was on Gianna's basketball team), Sarah Chester and daughter Peyton Chester (another player on the teen's team), assistant coach Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Tributes for the Lakers alum and the other victims of the crash have been flooding in all week. Bryant's wife, Vanessa Bryant, has not yet commented on the loss of her husband and daughter, but she did change her Instagram photo to one of the two of them at a basketball game.
The tragic accident occurred the same day as the 2020 Grammys, prompting celebrities attending the award show to respond to the heartbreaking news on the red carpet and during the event.
Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien and James Corden all reacted to the Hall of Famer's death on their shows, as did Ellen DeGeneres, who turned 62 the same day as the crash.
Bryant's friends made during his storied basketball career have also been honoring their dear friend. Magic Johnson reminisced about his happy memories with the superstar during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday night, sharing his belief that Bryant is the greatest Laker player of all time.
Shaquille O'Neil broke down into tears while honoring his "little brother." In the video, O'Neil lamented over the fact that Bryant will never see his name added to the NBA Hall of Fame, which he is being inducted into later this year.
"The fact that we're not going to be able to joke at his Hall of Fame Ceremony," he said, "We're not going to be able to say, 'Ha! I got five, you got four'... Those are the things you can't get back."
The NFL's tribute to the fallen star will undoubtedly be a touching one, as well.
Our thoughts are with the Bryant family and the families of all those lost during this difficult time.