Who decides the Super Bowl halftime performer each year? Ever since the NFL partnered with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation to revolutionize the halftime show, the answer depends on who you ask.
Executive producer Jesse Collins says it plainly: Jay-Z makes the call. The NFL deflects to partnership language. Six years into Roc Nation’s involvement as “live music entertainment strategist,” the Super Bowl halftime selection process remains intentionally murky, but it certainly seems like Jay-Z and Co. are calling the shots.
Before 2019, the NFL used a “fractured” interview process that left multiple superstars disappointed. Now, one man steers the most-watched musical performance on the planet. Bad Bunny headlines tonight’s Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium as the latest product of a system that Jay-Z rebuilt.
Breaking Down Jay-Z’s Involvement in Selecting the Super Bowl Halftime Performer
Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez oversees halftime show production. Seth Dudowsky, the NFL’s head of music since 2013, serves as the league’s liaison to Roc Nation. Collins produces the show. All three defer to Jay-Z on artist selection.
Collins told Variety the selection hierarchy is straightforward. “It’s a decision that Jay makes,” he said. “Since we’ve been onboard with that show, he’s made it every year, and it’s been amazing.”
The NFL signed Roc Nation to a reported five-year, $25 million deal in August 2019. The partnership tasked Jay-Z with selecting performers for the halftime show and other televised NFL events while supporting the league’s Inspire Change social justice initiative. The arrangement gave Jay-Z influence over an entertainment slot that reaches more than 100 million viewers annually.
There’s some conflicting information about whether the host cities play a role. According to The Charlotte Observer’s reporting on the process, a panel (including the NFL’s director of entertainment, production company members, and show executives) creates a shortlist. That list then goes to the host city for final approval.
However, Jay Cicero, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and a Super Bowl 59 Host Committee member, offered a different account. “It is the NFL’s decision alone for all entertainment for the Super Bowl,” Cicero told Andscape. “We found out about it at the same time everyone else did.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has referenced collaboration between the league, Apple Music, and Roc Nation. Nobody from the NFL specifically describes Jay-Z’s authority, but nobody disputes Collins’ characterization either.
Jay-Z accepted the role after years of publicly dismissing Super Bowl involvement. His 2018 track “APSHT” with Beyoncé included the line: “I said no to the Superbowl / You need me, I don’t need you.”
The NFL’s attempts to book halftime acts had grown increasingly difficult. Superstars like Pink spoke out about turning down the Super Bowl halftime show. The league’s handling of player protests around social justice made the gig culturally problematic for major artists.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly reached out to Jay-Z and told him that the NFL needed help addressing social issues. Kraft arranged a meeting with Goodell. The partnership emerged months after Maroon 5’s widely panned 2019 halftime show.
Jay-Z explained his previous reluctance at the 2019 partnership announcement. The NFL’s selection process frustrated him. “The process of selection was fractured,” he said. “You take four artists and everyone thinks they’re playing the Super Bowl. After three years, nine people are upset and three people have performed. There ain’t that many superstars in the world. You’re going to run out of people that want to play.”
The old system created unnecessary tension. Artists believed they were in serious consideration. The NFL made selections that left multiple high-profile acts feeling rejected. Jay-Z saw both the inefficiency and an opportunity. By being transparent throughout the process and reducing the drama, they wouldn’t burn bridges. And Jay-Z’s involvement led to some big names who resonated with viewers.
The results validated the approach. Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 show with Bad Bunny and J Balvin as guests increased halftime viewership from the previous year. Dr. Dre’s 2022 performance with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Anderson.
Paak won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special. Rihanna’s 2023 show generated record-breaking streaming numbers. The halftime show has collected multiple Emmys under Roc Nation’s oversight.
Dudowsky described the philosophy shift. “We really wanted to start to focus on leading to culture,” he said. “Whether that’s the culture of the city, what’s happening in culture at large and then focusing on it so that what we’re doing feels culturally relevant and using that platform for artists to be able to be themselves and show their art on stage. We want them to feel empowered.”
This year, the Bad Bunny selection supports the league’s strategic push into Latino markets. NFL Senior Vice President of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing Marissa Solis stated in 2024 that the league’s growth “is mathematically impossible without Latinos,” citing more than 39 million Latino fans in the United States.
Bad Bunny became Spotify’s most-streamed artist globally in 2025, and his Grammy win for Album of the Year marked the first time an all Spanish-language album earned the honor. The halftime slot amplifies the NFL’s “Por La Cultura” campaign launched in 2021.
NFL Doubles Down After Bad Bunny Selection Generates Controversy
Goodell defended Bad Bunny’s selection at his annual Super Bowl news conference.
“Bad Bunny is one of the greatest artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” Goodell said. “But 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.”
The selection sparked significant backlash. Conservative commentators criticized the choice of a Spanish-language artist. Turning Point USA announced a counterprogramming halftime show featuring Kid Rock and other singers. Bad Bunny addressed critics during his Saturday Night Live appearance, joking they had “four months to learn” Spanish.
Jay-Z dismissed the controversy in October when asked about the backlash. “They love him,” he told TMZ. “Don’t let them fool you.”
The partnership between the NFL and Roc Nation appears stable. Goodell told Bloomberg in October that extending the arrangement seemed likely. “It’s been a mutually positive relationship,” he said. “I’m not sure either one of us really spend much time talking about contracts. Jay is happy. Desiree Perez is happy. I’m happy, so we’re all good.”
Bad Bunny takes the stage at halftime with the backing of a selection process that remains publicly undefined but privately understood. The person who controls it transformed a broken system into a business advantage for both himself and the league.
The results are clear, just look at the ratings and the cultural conversations that follow.
