The Super Bowl halftime show announcement is often as anticipated as the game itself. This year, rumors are already circulating, based on a new report from Puck News on Tuesday, that Jay-Z is set to headline Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. What makes the story unusual is that Jay-Z is also the person behind who gets chosen for the job in the first place. According to Puck, the Brooklyn-born rapper passed over other artists who had been in consideration, including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Harry Styles. Neither Jay-Z, Roc Nation, nor the NFL has confirmed the report.
Jay-Z’s involvement in the Super Bowl halftime selection process dates to 2019, when his entertainment company Roc Nation reached a landmark agreement with the NFL to serve as the league's live music entertainment strategist. The partnership, extended for another five years in 2024, grew out of a broader conversation about the NFL’s relationship with Black artists and athletes following years of criticism over its treatment of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice and police brutality. “The NFL has a ...