Bad Bunny is less than 12 hours away from taking the stage at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Sunday night.
The Puerto Rican rapper and singer is promising a great show. He's confident that everyone will be happy. But will we see any special guests?
“Well, you know that’s something I’m not going to tell you. I don’t know why you asked that,” he said at his Super Bowl 60 press conference. “I think I have a lot of guests — it’s going to be my family, my friends, all the Latino community around the world that’s supporting me. The whole country, there’s a lot of people that love me around the world — not just the Latinos, you just said I’m No. 1 in China so Chinese people love me also. So, there’s a lot of people that stop me in the street or the airport, people from Americas, from United States, Mexico, French, and say, ‘I know you’re going to do a great performance at the Super Bowl.’
“I know the world is going to be happy this Sunday. They’re going to have fun, they’re going to dance, and they’re going to have a good time.”
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
But how much will Bad Bunny get paid for his Super Bowl 60 halftime show performance on Sunday night?
More than 50,000 fans will be packed inside the stadium. More than 100 million people will be watching in the United States.
It's probably a lot, right?
Wrong.
Bad Bunny won't get paid for it
The NFL does not pay its Super Bowl halftime show performers.
“We do not pay the artists,” an NFL spokesperson told Forbes in 2016. “We cover expenses and production costs.”
Why?
Because it's such a big stage. Bad Bunny will earn millions from his performance, as his songs will be topping all of the streaming charts. His ticket sales will likely skyrocket, too - though they were already high to begin with.
Performing at the Super Bowl halftime show is a privilege - and it doesn't result in direct payment.
“The halftime show at the Super Bowl remains a highly coveted spot for many artists,” entertainment attorney Lori Landew told Forbes in 2019. “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.”
The NFL will end up paying Bad Bunny something, but it'll be very little. Usher, for example, got about $671 for his performance and around $1,800 for his rehearsals. Bad Bunny should receive something similar.
But at the end of the day, Bad Bunny will not receive a major check from the NFL for his performance. Instead, he'll see his popularity skyrocket and his ticket sales and streaming numbers go up.