The Atlanta Falcons made a surprising selection taking former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Among those shocked by the selection was their current projected starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins.

The Falcons called Cousins when they were on the clock to let him know they were taking Penix, his agent, Mike McCartney, told The Athletic. When Cousins signed with the team this offseason, the Falcons told him they would be drafting a quarterback in the later rounds of this draft. He was stunned when they took one in the first round, and Cousins’ biggest concern is that the pick doesn’t help the team for the upcoming season.

Part of the reason Atlanta selected Penix is that it believes it won’t have a top pick in coming drafts with Cousins under center the next few years, a team source told The Athletic.

The Falcons signed Cousins this offseason to a four-year deal worth $180 million, including $100 million guaranteed. The 35-year-old quarterback is recovering from the torn Achilles tendon he sustained in Week 8 last season. Cousins said at his introductory news conference in March that he could take drops and make passes, but if added, “I think the minute I would have to leave the pocket is where you’d say, ‘Yeah, he’s still recovering from an Achilles.’”

Opinions varied on Penix

I didn’t think the Falcons would use the eighth pick for Penix, that’s for sure, but I do think Penix was a really interesting prospect in this draft.

Two former head coaches with strong track records were among the people I spoke with during the draft process who had Penix as their No. 2 quarterback in this draft, behind Caleb Williams. It seemed like very few people agreed with this assessment.

My feel during Super Bowl week was that Penix would be gone by the middle of the first round, but the recent chatter surrounding him made me feel like that was a stretch. With quarterbacks, there can be great volatility. If a team loves one, the team should take him. And when teams feel set at the position already, they simply do not select them most of the time. That is how someone like Penix can go earlier than expected while an Aaron Rodgers waits longer than expected.  — Mike Sando, National NFL writer

Required reading

(Photo: Jorge Lemus / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Concerns have been raised with the United States government, including an official meeting in the White House, over fears supporters may be deterred from the 2026 men’s World Cup owing to excessive wait times to process visa applications to visit the country.

The tournament begins in 777 days and it will be at least another 18 months before many countries will be assured of qualification, yet the wait times for U.S. visa interviews in two Mexican cities are already in excess of 800 days, while it is 685 days in the Colombian capital of Bogota.

In a statement to The Athletic, the U.S. Department of State (which oversees international relations) insisted it is determined to reduce wait times but also encouraged supporters in affected countries to start applying for visas now, over two years out from the tournament and with the line-up still unknown.

The 2026 edition of world football’s governing body FIFA’s flagship tournament will include 48 nations for the first time and will be held in 16 cities in the U.S, Canada and Mexico.

It will also be the first World Cup without an overarching local organising committee, which means FIFA is tasked with pulling everything together, in conjunction with the many layers of stakeholders and bureaucracy across three nations and 16 host cities, each of which have differing levels of private and taxpayer support.

The three host countries also have differing entry criteria for visitors, which has the potential to create visa confusion for fans seeking to follow their team deep into the tournament across multiple borders.

Several host cities, including the location for the final — New York/New Jersey — are also concerned about the wait times for visas, and the potential impact on income from tourism during the tournament, but the cities are currently allowing FIFA and the travel industry to lead the conversations with the government. Some of those who have spoken to The Athletic wished to remain anonymous, owing either to sensitivity around discussions or to protect working relationships.

Travis Murphy is the founder of Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment and a former American diplomat who also once ran international government affairs for the NBA.

“My concern is this could be a disaster (in 2026),” he said. “The concerns are absolutely there on the city level. The cities are thinking, ‘They are FIFA, so they must have it under control.’ But when you realise how FIFA worked in the past with previous hosts in Qatar and Russia, it doesn’t necessarily work in the United States.

“We’re just a completely different animal in terms of how our government operates and how we communicate. And frankly, the emphasis that we place on soccer as a sport in our country.

“If this was the Super Bowl, the World Series or the NBA finals, we’d be having a different conversation. Soccer is not the biggest sport in our country. And I think that’s a fundamental lack of understanding by FIFA, perhaps just taking it for granted that it is the case everywhere in the world. But it’s not yet in the United States.”

In recent months, U.S. travel industry representatives and FIFA have raised concerns with the U.S. Department of State and the White House as the respective groups seek to organise how millions of tourists will enter the U.S. during the five-week tournament in June and July 2026. In January 2024, FIFA strengthened its staff in D.C. when it hired Alex Sopko, the former chief of staff for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, to be its new Director of Government Relations.

In a statement to The Athletic, a FIFA spokesperson said the organisation is working closely with U.S. Government in the planning and preparation for the World Cup, including regular discussions on critical topics such as immigration and visas, and adding it recognises “the urgency of these matters.”

The visa delays ahead of the World Cup were raised in a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, April 17, with senior administration officials in conversation with the United States Travel Association (U.S. Travel). 

Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of U.S. Travel, was present in the meeting. He describes visa wait times as a “massive issue” but added: “We came away confident that the White House recognises the significance of the 2026 World Cup and will take concrete steps to streamline aspects of the travel experience for the more than eight million anticipated visitors.”

Freely available data on the website of the Department of Consular affairs details the lengthy wait times currently impacting visitor visas from markets that may be highly relevant during the World Cup, which begins in 778 days.

Forty-one countries, including much of Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia, are part of a visa waiver programme — ESTA — to enter the United States, which means citizens of these countries can travel without obtaining a visa, so as long as their trip for tourism or business does not exceed 90 days.

However, many people, estimated by U.S. Travel to represent 45 per cent of those who visit the States, do require visas for entry. These documents, called a B1/B2 visa, also require in-person appointments at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to take digital photographs and fingerprints, as well as an interview, in which the candidate must state their intention to return to their home countries and explain their reasons for visiting the United States.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announces the 2026 match schedule in February (Brennan Asplen/FIFA via Getty Images)

Wait times for a visa interview at a U.S. consulate in the Mexican cities of Mexico City and Guadalajara are currently 878 days and 820 days respectively, so an application made today may not be approved before the World Cup begins. In the Colombian capital of Bogota, the current wait time is 685 days, while Panama City is 477 days and Quito in Ecuador is 420.

The 2026 World Cup is guaranteed to include the U.S, Mexico and Canada as hosts but five more nations may yet qualify from North and Central America, while up to seven may enter from the South American Football Confederation. Wait times are also dramatic in the Turkish city of Istanbul, where it takes 553 days for an appointment, as well as in Morocco, semi-finalists at the World Cup in 2022, where the wait time is 225 days.

In a statement to The Athletic, the state department said: “We encourage prospective FIFA World Cup visitors who will need U.S. visas to apply now – there is no requirement to have purchased event tickets, made hotel reservations, or reserved airline tickets to qualify for a visitor visa.”

Freeman attributes the current visa delays to the shutdown of consular offices during the coronavirus pandemic but also outlines long-standing issues.

“The U.S. is the world’s most desired nation to visit, but our market share is slipping and it’s in a large part due to long visa wait times,” he said. “If you are Colombian and want to come and bring your kids in 2026, your window might already be closed.”

A World Cup is further complicated because many supporters may wait until their nations have secured qualification to organise their trip. For the Americas, this will largely be in winter 2025 — the play-offs may be as late as March 2026 — while nations will only know the cities in which their teams will be competing following the draw, which is usually held eight months out from the tournament.

During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, visitors were able to expedite their entry into the country by applying for a Hayya card, effectively a fan pass for World Cup ticket holders that acted as a visa for the tournament. A repeat pass is not expected to be approved by the U.S, particularly at a time of global tensions both in the Middle East and following Russia’s invasion of and continued war against Ukraine.

Freeman warned: “The U.S. is not going to change its visa policies in the short term to frankly cater to FIFA. I think where you may see the U.S. adjust some of its approach is in cooperation with Mexico and Canada. So once teams have qualified within the tournament, how do we streamline their ability to cross borders and attend games in other markets later in the tournament? I believe that’s where there will be greater cooperation and some of those discussions are already taking place.”

The answer may simply be additional staff and investment, such as deploying more consular officers at embassies, a method which has helped significantly reduce wait times from Brazil and India over the past year. Congress set aside $50million for the U.S. State Department to “reduce passport backlogs and reduce visa wait times” in a bill signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in March but it was not specified how and where the money will be invested.

There is a precedent for visa issues causing delays at major international sporting events in the United States. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who set the African 100metres record of 9.77 seconds in 2021, only received his visa documentation the day before the men’s 100 metres heats began at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022.

After securing his visa in Kenya, he took a five-hour flight to Qatar, endured a six-hour layover, then a 14-hour flight to Seattle, another three-hour layover and last of all, a one-hour flight to Oregon. He landed at 4.15 pm and immediately went to the track, where the heats commenced at 6.50pm.

Omanyala competes in the men’s 100m heats on July 15, 2022 (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The sprinter said: “If you are hosting a championship, you need to waive (visa requirements) for athletes. It’s a lesson for the host country in the future, and the U.S. is hosting the Olympics in 2028 (in Los Angeles), so they need to learn from this and do better next time.”

Murphy added: “There were hundreds of athletes who were unable to travel. The World Athletics Championships was was a relatively small event compared to the magnitude of what we’re talking about with the 48-team World Cup and the millions and millions of people involved, in terms of what needs to happen.”

Playing rosters are usually only approved in the final months before a tournament, but the U.S. is expected to expedite processing to ensure players and support staff from federations are able to arrive in time for the World Cup.

The U.S. Department of State attributes the issues at World Athletics to the pressures felt by consular officers coming out of the pandemic and told The Athletic that wait times for “P-visas”, generally used by members of professional sports teams coming to participate in athletic competitions, are “low worldwide”.

Murphy said the National Security Council has established a working committee on the matter for the White House but caveated his optimism with a reminder that more instant priorities are Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. He said: “This is not a priority beyond the host cities, FIFA itself and the members of Congress who represent those host cities. But in terms of there being a broad approach that is all-encompassing and has a wide swath of support in Congress, there’s just nothing there. There’s no bills or initiatives in Congress that are focused on this.”

He added: “The conversations that needed to have started a year plus ago are not at a point where they need to be. And when you’re talking about the U.S. Government, it is essentially at a state of standstill in terms of any major movement that needs to happen from now until November of this year (when there is a Presidential election).”

The Department of State insisted it is “committed to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States while maintaining high national security standards.”

Its statement continued: “We are pleased to be an active participant in a working group with FIFA and other stakeholders on plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Bureau of Consular Affairs recognizes the importance of international inbound tourism, including for mega sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, and is working tirelessly to facilitate secure travel to the United States. We have significantly reduced visa wait times over the past two years.”

One of the peculiarities of the U.S. political system is that there is no sports ministry to facilitate such discussions. In its absence, Murphy calls for a special envoy to be appointed, with the World Cup likely to be followed by the women’s edition in 2027 before the Olympics in LA in 2028.

He said: “There has to be somebody centralised to organise those conversations. That’s relatively easy to do. If it’s somebody that has the respect and attention of the cabinet agencies, they can have a conversation with Capitol Hill and that’s going to go a long way to getting things done.”

(Top photo: Patrick Smith/FIFA via Getty Images)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — For years, Luke Kunin watched as his girlfriend, then fiancée, then wife, Sophia, supported his career.

She was a shoulder to lean on when things got tough in Minnesota. Moved to Nashville when he was traded there. Was a constant during the toughest season of his pro career — last year with the San Jose Sharks, when he tore his ACL.

So Kunin can’t wait to walk into Xcel Energy Center — the arena where he began his NHL career as a Minnesota Wild rookie seven years ago — on Saturday with the shoe on the other foot. The 1 p.m. CDT game will be his first time watching Sophia play at the highest level in person, as she’ll take the ice with Minnesota’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team to face Boston in its regular-season home finale ahead of next month’s playoffs.

“I’ll get to see what it’s all about,” Luke said. “I’ve watched her games on the internet all year — as much as I can with our schedule — but I think of all the things she’s sacrificed for me over the years so I can live out my dream. I can’t wait to be there to support her and watch her live her dream.”

Luke and Sophia Kunin’s relationship has helped them come through so much to arrive at this point. Meeting as teenagers. Watching each other excel in hockey. Becoming college sweethearts. And Luke being Sophia’s “rock every step of the way” after the most traumatic event of her life, the death of her younger brother, Drake, at the start of her sophomore year.

Luke, 26, is a hard-nosed, hard-working forward for the Sharks who hails from suburban St. Louis. Sophia, 27, who grew up in Wayzata, Minn., and is now one of PWHL Minnesota’s fastest, most reliable forwards, was known as Sophia Shaver until the Kunins were married last summer in the Twin Cities.

They are the only husband and wife professional hockey players in their respective top leagues in North America.

For now.

“I think the more our league’s around, the more we’re going to start to see it,” said U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Natalie Darwitz, GM of PWHL Minnesota and a two-time NCAA champion with the University of Minnesota. “Not to say that romances are going to happen left and right at the rink, but as more franchises start to share facilities and we’re around, it only makes sense because who better to understand the other’s schedule and commitment than another professional hockey player.

“To me, Luke and Sophia is such a cool story. It’d be even cooler if Luke still played for the Wild.”

Luke and Sophia met at the University of Wisconsin before their freshman years. Luke was an incoming men’s hockey player for a Badgers team he’d ultimately captain as a sophomore. Sophia was an incoming women’s hockey player for a Badgers team she’d ultimately captain and help lead to an NCAA championship with the winning goal in the title game.

At Wisconsin, athletes usually come to Madison for summer training before the school year starts.

“We actually were both in the same dorm,” Sophia recalled. “It was a small dorm with us — women’s hockey — men’s hockey, both basketballs and then some track people. We had a lot of time on our hands so we would hang out all the time. We’d see each other at the rink. Started off as friends and then really quickly just started dating in the fall of our freshman year.”

They’ve been together since, although because Luke plays for San Jose and Sophia was part of the Minnesota team in the inaugural PWHL season, they were newlyweds who rarely got to see each other during this first year as husband and wife.

Wild winger Marcus Foligno may be six years older than Luke, but the two hit it off right away when Luke arrived in Minnesota as a rookie, becoming such good pals that Foligno was a groomsman in the Kunins’ wedding, along with Luke’s former Nashville Predators teammate Colton Sissons and childhood best friend Matthew Tkachuk.

In early March, when the Sharks came to Minnesota for their first visit of 2023-24, Foligno was so excited to see his old friend that he asked if he wanted to have dinner the night before the game. He forgot, of course, that Luke would probably rather spend some time with his wife.

“He’s like, ‘Dude, I haven’t seen Sophia in two months,’” Foligno said, laughing. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s right. You guys have a crazy lifestyle.’ I don’t know how they do it. I’d go insane if I didn’t see my wife all the time, especially the first year of our marriage.”

But as tough as it is, the Kunins have done the long-distance thing often in their relationship since Kunin left Wisconsin after his sophomore year to turn pro.

“It’s tough, but we’re kind of used to it,” Sophia said. “We’ve been apart a lot of our lives. And with both of our schedules, we kind of have the same schedule. So we’re both unavailable to each other throughout the day. We’re here at the rink and then we get to catch up at night.”

Added Luke, “We both love playing and both love what we’re doing and just want to enjoy it as long as we can or as long as both of us want to do it, I guess. Yeah, it’s tough being separated. You want to see each other. But it’s cool to see everything that she’s been doing and the way the league’s going, how much fun she’s having.”

Sophia had just played a weekend series against St. Cloud State when she got the devastating call from her parents, Cristen and Tom, on Oct. 2, 2016, that Drake had taken his own life. A high school hockey and lacrosse player, an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing, Drake was only 17.

“He was a very happy, normal, popular guy,” Sophia said. “That’s why it came as such a shock to all of us because we would’ve never seen the signs. He seemed to have everything together, but he was struggling on the inside and didn’t want to open up.”

Sophia with her brother, Drake. (Courtesy of Sophia Kunin)

Sophia returned home but came back to school a week later. She buried herself in as much schoolwork and hockey as she could, but she was not doing OK.

Luke was one of her continuous means of support.

“This is probably one of the reasons why we’re so strong together because we would only have been dating for a year at that point,” Sophia said. “I had to lean on him a ton that year because it was obviously the hardest year of my life. That year and even years past, just having him there for me — and he was so good about just checking in and making sure I was doing OK, it’s probably how I got through it. And remember, he’s going through a year where he’s trying to make it to the NHL, too, so he had a tough time with it as well, and I’ll just forever be grateful for him for that.”

Luke was only 18 at the time and was heartbroken for Sophia and her family. He had started to become close with her parents and siblings, including Sophia’s sister, Crosby, who went to the Air Force Academy, was a pilot who flew refueler jets and now has an independent contracting job in Washington, D.C.

“I still can’t imagine what she was going through and her family, and I just wanted to be there for her and her family,” Luke said. “Yeah, it was tough. Drake was such a good kid, and I think the way she handled everything and continues to handle everything, she is crazy strong mentally, just to get through that. She kind of keeps everything moving forward and in the right direction.

“The way she had to handle herself when it happened has really helped turn her into the person she is today. Every day, she just goes about her business and is good and decent to everyone she meets. I know she says I helped her through that time, but she’s the toughest person I’ve ever met. Still is, and we still talk about Drake all the time when the families are together, and he’s still a big part of our family for sure.”

Luke is very close with Sophia’s family, especially her dad, Tom, who takes him to their cabin in Crosslake to go fishing and hunting.

“Luke was never into it because he just didn’t grow up with it, but now he’s got a real passion for the outdoors and loves hanging with my dad,” Sophia said. “They’ve known him since he was 17, so my dad loves teaching Luke things about fishing and hunting. They’ve kind of grown together through that, and they really do think of him as a son.”

Luke Kunin has played for the Wild, Predators and Sharks. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

As tough of a year as the Sharks had, winning only 19 games, Luke scored 11 goals, got into a team-leading nine fights, led the team’s forwards with 165 hits and wore a letter on his chest. General manager Mike Grier said he epitomized what the team is looking for in San Jose, someone willing to battle every night.

A restricted free agent, Luke hopes to sign a long-term deal there this offseason.

And Sophia, who scored a goal in Minnesota’s first game at Boston, is a player Darwitz feels will prove quite valuable once the playoffs begin. Every team has high-end skill, but Darwitz believes the teams that separate themselves will be the ones with high-end depth provided by players like Sophia, who has scored two goals and an assist in 21 games.

Brittyn Fleming forces a turnover and Wayzata Native Sophia Kunin goes top shelf. Minnesota up 2-0! pic.twitter.com/VTu0tY8wxs

— Brett Marshall (@B_Marsh92) January 4, 2024

“In any playoff run, it’s your depth,” Darwitz said. “Sophia’s a big part of our secondary scoring because of her speed. She’s got good hockey IQ. She makes stuff happen. Usually, a lot of her play is without the puck — how well she angles, creates a turnover. Does she want to be on this stat sheet more? Absolutely. Should she be? She could be. She has the potential and the skill. But she’s doing exactly what we need from her right now.”

Sophia Kunin is a good depth forward for PWHL Minnesota (Courtesy of PWHL Minnesota)

Luke and Sophia don’t do a lot of offseason training together. In Nashville, when Sophia was a commercial real estate broker, she skated with the Junior Preds high schoolers to keep in shape and keep playing. But in the summertime now, even though they’re both pros, Luke does his own thing and she does her thing with a group of women who play professionally.

“She’s worked crazy hard to get to where she is,” Luke said. “And I think it’s awesome for the players to have something to look forward to post-college. It’s been great to see how well the turnouts have been in terms of attendance and how well the league’s going. Obviously, it’s real young, but hopefully good things to come for both her and the league.

“Sophia does a little bit of everything. I’ve seen her play in college, and similar to me, just seeing the transition from her college game to pro is really cool. She’s very well-rounded. I’m just having a blast watching her have fun and just hope her and her team does well.”

Foligno got to read the starting lineup in the locker room for PWHL Minnesota’s first-ever home game. Two of his young daughters were by his side, and he hoped it would make an impression long into the future that women were about to play a professional hockey game.

“And my girls know who Sophia is for sure,” Foligno said. “Luke and Sophia are two great people who come from great families. The whole long-distance relationship after getting married is wild in itself, but they’re two people that are passionate about what they do and support each other, which is pretty cool. It’s why they’ve been together for so long. Not to be sappy, but Luke really loves his girl, so it’s cool to see them playing professionally and having success while doing it, too.”

Sophia and Luke Kunin proudly sport their USA Hockey garb. (Courtesy of Sophia Kunin)

Kunin is back in Minnesota for now, but he will head to Czechia next month with the U.S. national team to take part in the world championships. In 2017, he captained the U.S. to world juniors gold.

He’s just excited that during this short stay he’ll get to take in one of Sophia’s games.

And to hang out with his best friend, their spunky 4-year-old French Bulldog, Rocco.

“Luke misses Rocco more than me when he’s away,” Sophia said.

“He’s my favorite,” Luke joked. “But Sophia might take a little better care of him than I could in San Jose, so he stays here. It’s always tough leaving him, especially because when I come back, he pouts at first because he’s so mad I was gone. He gets over it, but the cycle always repeats itself.”

This has been a long, long year for the Kunins being separated. On their wedding day last July, Luke stole the show at the reception by grabbing the mic and singing rock n’ roll songs like Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down.”

“He’s not a good singer at all, by the way,” Sophia cracked.

Several NHLers were there, including Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Sissons, Dante Fabbro, Ryan Hartman, Jordan Greenway and Foligno.

Several of Sophia’s former teammates were bridesmaids, including Abby Roque, who plays for PWHL New York.

“Abby is kind of the Matthew Tkachuk of our league: talks smack, kind of a rat, so naturally we paired them together as bridesmaid and groomsman and they walked down the aisle together,” Sophia said, laughing.

Nick Kunin, Austin Haglund, Matthew Tkachuk, Luke Kunin, Matthew Freytag, Colton Sissons and Marcus Foligno with Sophia Kunin in front on wedding day. (Courtesy of Sophia Kunin)

This is life as an NHL-PWHL couple. Enjoying the moments they get together and appreciating each other’s careers as they try to fulfill the same dreams.

Even Grier said, “I hear it in Luke’s voice when he talks about the league and talks about Sophia. He’s so proud of her and gets such enjoyment watching her play hockey.”

“I think we’re both super grateful that we, one, met in college and got to play college hockey, but then to continue our careers both professionally,” Sophia said. “It’s a super unique experience. It’s really nice to just have someone else that’s going through the exact same thing as you. Our seasons are going on at the same time. We get to talk about the highs and lows.

“To have someone like that as your partner is really special for us.”

(Top photos courtesy of Sophia Kunin)