Why JLo and Shakira Will Earn $0 for 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show
JLo and Shakira will perform the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show, but here's why the NFL won't be paying them a dime for the performance. | Credit: Michael Zorn/Invision/AP
Jennifer Lopez and Shakira have locked down the 2020 Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. The two Spanish and English language pop-music superstars will perform the show at halftime on Feb. 2, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. The NFL, Pepsi, and Roc Nation thrilled fans with the announcement Thursday.
In a statement, Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s vice president of marketing, said :
“These two remarkable artists are setting a new precedent for what this show can become, and we’re confident that this will be an incredible performance for the ages.”
Shakira posted an epic Super Bowl halftime show hero shot on the Gram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B24wcLBgqhg/
And JLo posted, “This is happening. 🌎 02.02.20”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B24uVRjJlly/
But don’t expect Shakira to make a big windfall to catch up on her overdue taxes in Spain. And don’t expect JLo to outshine her earnings from this month’s box office hit film , “Hustlers.” For performing in one of the highest-rated live entertainment events on television, the two superstars will earn exactly $0.
The NFL Doesn’t Pay Super Bowl Halftime Performers
Don’t worry. Pepsi and the NFL aren’t being unfair to JLo and Shakira. As a longstanding policy, the NFL pays for all the multi-million halftime show production costs but doesn’t pay a fee to performers. So top-billed musical talent such as Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, and Bruno Mars have done the show without pay in recent years.
Per The New York Times in 2010:
“The N.F.L. does not pay an appearance fee, though it does cover all of the expenses for the band and its often ample entourage of several dozen stagehands, family and friends.”
They Even Thought About Charging Performers
That’s because the exposure from a Superbowl halftime performance amounts to millions of dollars worth of free advertising for the artists. Those artists fortunate enough to achieve this career pinnacle see “double- and triple-digit percentage spikes in the consumption of their music” after each Super Bowl game, according to Forbes.
Because the coveted live entertainment slot is so lucrative, the NFL even tried charging performers to do the Super Bowl halftime show in 2015. The eventual pick for that year, Katy Perry, put a quick end to that notion. She refused to pay to play, pointing out that it would appear that she bought her way on stage. She wanted to be picked on merit, not on willingness to pony up.
