Kendrick Lamar has spent months preparing for the Super Bowl halftime show since being confirmed as its performer in September 2024 – but he won't be getting paid a dime for it!
The "Not Like Us" singer took to the stage after winning five Grammys for the song last week.
The show, which is known as one of the most-watched television broadcasts each year, typically lasts between 12 and 15 minutes – and the performers are not paid for a single second of it.
Despite the lack of a fee, the NFL pays for the costs associated with bringing the show to life, which in 2020 cost $13 million, according to Reuters. They also cover the artists' travel expenses.
"We don't pay the artists," an NFL spokesperson told Forbes in 2016. "We cover expenses and production costs."
Here's everything you need to know about how the NFL finances the Super Bowl halftime show — and why it's still profitable for the performers even though they don't get paid.
Why do artists perform at the Super Bowl for free?
Getting paid for a Super Bowl performance isn't necessarily a priority for singers, due to the other benefits that come with the show. The exposure alone helps catapult album sales and tours for artists, even those who have nothing to promote at the moment.
Historically, streaming figures for performance artists' creations skyrocket the day after the big game.
According to Spotify, per Newsweek, after the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show, Shakira saw a 230% increase in streams while Jennifer Lopez's discography increased by 335% . After Justin Timberlake's performance in 2018, his music sales increased by 534% , per Billboard. Similarly, sales of Bruno Mars' album Jukebox Unorthodox increased by 92% , pushing it from No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 to No. 3 , according to Forbes.
Over time, 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, as Rihanna's performance in 2023 garnered 118.7 million viewers, the largest in TV history, Forbes reported.
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Source: People
