No, Bad Bunny Won’t Get Paid for the Super Bowl Halftime Show — Here’s Why

As the NFL tradition goes, the Puerto Rican reggaeton artist will not be paid for his historic halftime performance

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Bad Bunny performs during his Most Wanted Tour at Barclays Center in New York City on April 11, 2024.Credit : Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty

Bad Bunny prepped for months to take the stage for one of the biggest performances of his career: the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. However, he won’t be getting paid for it.

The Puerto Rican singer-rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was announced as the Super Bowl LX performer in September 2025. The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, presented by the NFL and Roc Nation, is set for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8 and will air live on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock.

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement upon the announcement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”

Bad Bunny took home three awards at the 68th Grammys, including Album of the Year — marking the first time a Spanish-language artist won in the category. Though he’s generated millions for himself and his native island during his 2025 Puerto Rico concert residency and on his record-setting Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, he won’t get paid to headline the halftime show.

Traditionally, the NFL doesn’t pay Super Bowl halftime acts to perform. Instead, artists reap the benefits of exposure from performing their 12 to 15-minute sets during one of the most-watched TV broadcasts of the year, which has attracted top talent such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.

Despite the lack of a paycheck, the NFL does provide travel expenses and production costs associated with bringing the show to life, with Reuters reporting estimates of $13 million in 2020.

Here’s everything to know about how the NFL finances the Super Bowl halftime show — and why it’s still profitable for the artists.

Is Bad Bunny going to be paid for his Super Bowl halftime show?

Bad Bunny attends the premiere of ‘Caught Stealing’ at Regal Union Square in New York City on Aug. 26, 2025.John Nacion/Variety via Getty

Like the superstars who came before him, Bad Bunny will not get a Super Bowl paycheck.

“We do not pay the artists,” NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter told Forbes in February 2016. “We cover expenses and production costs.”

The artists are paid on a “union scale,” which is a fraction of the six or seven-figure profit they usually rake in for a gig and a minimum wage guaranteed by a union contract. According to SAG-AFTRA’s most recent contract, this would amount to over $1,000 a day.

“The halftime show at the Super Bowl remains a highly coveted spot for many artists,” entertainment attorney Lori Landew told Forbes in February 2019.

Landew added, “Some of those artists do not see their appearance as a political statement, nor do they see the show as a cultural battleground, but rather view their live performance as an opportunity to entertain an enthusiastic crowd and to share their music and their talent with millions of viewers.”

Has anyone ever been paid? 

Katy Perry performs with dancers during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 1, 2015.Rob Carr/Getty

No one has ever been paid for their performance, but at one point, the NFL wanted to charge artists to perform.

In 2015, the NFL asked performers — including Rihanna, Coldplay and Katy Perry — to pay for the chance to perform on the big stage. They ultimately declined.

While Perry agreed to perform, she said she refused to pay because she didn’t want that associated with her name for the rest of her career.

“I don’t want an asterisk by my name for playing the Super Bowl for the rest of my life,” the pop star told Forbes. “I want to be able to say I played the Super Bowl based on my talents and my merit, thank you very much.”

Do the dancers get paid?

The Weeknd rehearses for the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. ,on Feb. 4, 2021.Kevin Mazur/Getty

In 2021, the NFL was criticized for not paying dancers fairly, as half the dancers in The Weeknd’s performance were unpaid “volunteers.”

According to one dancer who worked for free during the show, the dancers who were paid received $712 for the actual Super Bowl performance and $45 per hour for rehearsal time, per the Los Angeles Times. They also received a $30 per diem and a $250 COVID stipend if they had to report to a clinic to test on a day when they weren’t working.

Originally, many of the unpaid dancers didn’t realize they would be dancing alongside paid ones and that they could use the experience as one of the three union gigs required to be eligible for SAG-AFTRA. After being notified of the issue, SAG-AFTRA met with the show’s producers to establish rules that ensured dancers and other staff would be paid.

“SAG-AFTRA and the producers of the Super Bowl Halftime Show have met and had an open and frank discussion, and have agreed that no professional dancers will be asked to work for free as part of the halftime show,” the union said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “SAG-AFTRA will be advising our professional dancer members that they should not be rehearsing or working on the Super Bowl halftime show without compensation.”

Why do artists perform at the Super Bowl without pay?

Rihanna performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 12, 2023.Gregory Shamus/Getty

Getting a paycheck for the Super Bowl performance isn’t necessarily a priority for singers, given the other perks that come with the show. The exposure alone helps catapult album and tour sales for artists, even ones who don’t have anything to promote at the time.

Historically, streams for performing artists skyrocket the day after the big game. According to Newsweek, Shakira earned a 230% increase in streams on Spotify after co-headlining the 2020 Super Bowl with Jennifer Lopez, whose discography went up by 335%. Following Justin Timberlake’s 2018 show, Billboard reported his music sales increased 534%. Similarly, after Lamar hit the halftime stage in 2025, his album GNX surged 10,100% in sales despite being released months before in November 2024, according to Forbes.

Additionally, halftime show performances can lead to Emmy nominations and wins in major categories. The Super Bowl LVI halftime show — featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Lamar — earned three Emmys for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special and Outstanding Music Direction.

Lamar also brought home his second Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction for his solo headlining show at the 2025 Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Rihanna and Perry each received two statuettes for their respective performances in 2023 and 2015. Other Super Bowl acts who have been recognized by the Television Academy include Lady Gaga, Shakira and Lopez.

Kendrick Lamar performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025.Gregory Shamus/Getty

As time has gone on, the budget for the show has continued to grow, expanding from $1 million for Bruce Springsteen in 2009 to $13 million for Lopez and Shakira in 2020. For his performance, The Weeknd added another $7 million of his own money to bring his vision to life, according to Billboard.

The relationship between artists and the NFL is a symbiotic one. Take Lamar’s performance in 2025: The Grammy-winning rapper’s set drew 133.5 million viewers in the U.S., making it the most-watched halftime show thus far, per Billboard. Bad Bunny is expected to achieve record-breaking viewership for his performance, which takes place amid his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour (set to end in July 2026).

What have artists said about the lack of pay?

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Bridgestone halftime show during Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1, 2009.Jamie Squire/Getty

In January 2021, Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau reflected on his decision to approve the artist’s performance, recalling his first meeting with the NFL.

“They gave me 10 minutes worth of bullet points about how big the Super Bowl is, it’s the No. 1 show on Jupiter and Mars, it’s No. 1 with women, it’s No. 1 with people who don’t brush their teeth. There’s $1 billion transacted — I remember them saying that,” Landau told Billboard.

He added: “‘I have one question: What do you get paid to be part of the biggest show in the history of the universe? What does the artist get?’ Earnings for the show for Bruce and the band: zero. But it was beautifully produced, Bruce and the band were sensational, and we loved it. Until you’re there, you can’t comprehend how many people work on that show.”

Do the other Super Bowl performers get paid?

Charlie Puth performs ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ onstage during the ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest’ special in New York City on Dec. 31, 2025.Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty

Apart from the halftime show, the Super Bowl also features other performances at the start of the game. In 2026, Charlie Puth will take on the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will sing “America the Beautiful” and R&B star Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The star-powered lineup is rounded out by Green Day, who will kick off the Super Bowl with a special performance during the opening ceremony.

However, like the halftime show performer, none of them will be paid outside of union wages.