The Halftime Performers at the Super Bowl Are Paid in Bragging Rights and Exposure

For some, the halftime show at the Super Bowl is what they look forward to most. In between snacking on buffalo chicken dip and eating some football-themed dessert, viewers get to sit down and enjoy a mini concert in the middle of the big game. And the performers give this gift to football fans out of the goodness of their hearts. Seriously, halftime performers aren't paid for their time on the field.

But why aren't halftime performers paid? The Super Bowl makes a ton of money each year, and it is the biggest and most important game of any given season. It stands to reason that whoever is chosen to perform during the halftime show would be paid handsomely for it. But, it turns out, that is not the case, even for the biggest singers and musical acts.

Although halftime performers aren't paid for performing at the Super Bowl, the cost of having them there is still astronomical for the NFL. According to The New York Times, the league pays for travel and all costs associated with having the performer or performers at the halftime show. This could be in the hundreds of thousands or even higher.

And, technically speaking, the performers are paid, though according to the NFL vice president of communications in 2022 Brian McCarthy per Newsweek, there is a payment for the performers based on a "union scale." Which is, People reported, around $1,000 per day. Again, that's not a lot of money for the amount of work that a halftime performer puts in, but you can't put a price on the exposure alone.

Maybe big acts like Rihanna or Kendrick Lamar don't need the exposure that the Super Bowl Halftime show offers. After all, they were stars in their own right before they were asked to be part of the big game. But being in the show can drive up record sales and even eventual concert tickets. Think of the halftime show as one big advertisement for whatever the performer has coming next in their career.

Although the NFL does come up with the potential performers for any given Super Bowl halftime show in any given season, the league does not have the final say in who performs. After the NFL figures out a list of singers or groups that appeal to a wide audience, it's up to the host city where the Super Bowl is held to choose who actually performs.

And, although some performers are truly timeless, most don't get a second or third shot at performing during the Super Bowl halftime show. There have been instances where guest performers showed up on-stage to assist the main performer well after they had their own shot as the main act. But for the most part, performers have one chance to make the most out of their Super Bowl performance.