The build-up to Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara has featured as much talk about the halftime show as the matchup itself. Bad Bunny’s appointment as headliner has drawn strong opinions across the political and sporting landscape, with debates ranging from language and culture to potential protests on the league’s biggest stage.
While that noise continues around the NFL, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye used his Super Bowl Media Night podium to give a straightforward answer on where he stands with the Puerto Rican superstar who will take over the show at the break.
What Did Drake Maye Say About Bad Bunny’s Selection As Super Bowl Halftime Show Performer?
Speaking to reporters in San Jose, Maye said he was already familiar with Bad Bunny’s work before the halftime announcement, in part through the artist’s acting role alongside Adam Sandler.
“I saw him in the Adam Sandler movie,” Maye said at Super Bowl Media Night. “I know Bad Bunny. I know he’s a big-time artist and I’m a big fan of him. Obviously he sings in a different language. I can’t sing, but I’m a fan of Bad Bunny.”
For Maye, the language barrier is not a concern. He acknowledged that Bad Bunny performs primarily in Spanish but framed that as irrelevant to his own enjoyment. The Patriots quarterback, who enters the week as one of the favorites to win Super Bowl 60, instead emphasized the artist’s stature and impact.
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That puts him among the current players publicly endorsing the NFL’s choice, at a time when the halftime slot has become a lightning rod well beyond football.
Maye’s comments came shortly after Bad Bunny capped a historic weekend at the 68th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The singer’s album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” won Album of the Year, marking the first time a Spanish-language project has taken that prize.
At the league’s Super Bowl press conference a day later, commissioner Roger Goodell pointed to that win as further proof of the artist’s global status, highlighting what influenced the NFL’s decision to place him on the halftime stage.
“Listen, Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” Goodell said.
He added that “the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people, and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, and to be able to use this moment to do that. And I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”
Controversy Behind Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show
While players like Maye have expressed support, Bad Bunny’s selection has been polarizing in some circles since it was announced. Criticism has focused on several fronts, including the expectation that he perform almost entirely in Spanish and the possibility that his halftime show could include political messaging.
Those questions intensified after his Grammy win, where he used his acceptance speech to address immigration enforcement and was widely quoted for saying “ICE out,” a phrase that drew sharp responses from political figures.
Against that backdrop, Maye’s remarks offer a snapshot of how at least one key participant views the halftime conversation during Super Bowl week.
Rather than engaging in the broader political debate, the Patriots quarterback simply positioned Bad Bunny as a global entertainer whose work he enjoys, underscoring how players can separate off-field discourse from their own appreciation of the headliner sharing the stage on the NFL’s biggest night.
