Taylor Swift, the famous singer-songwriter, has reportedly turned down the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime show. Swift, who has recently gotten engaged to Kansas City Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce, hinted at the announcement of the Super Bowl Halftime Show on his podcast New Heights. Some say Taylor wasn’t the only name in the mix. Big names, including Miley Cyrus and Adele, were mentioned as well. In the end, on September 28th, the NFL announced Bad Bunny as the performer.
Why?
The NFL typically offers exposure rather than payment to halftime performers. According to multiple sources, Taylor Swift did not find that acceptable, considering she is already one of the most popular songwriters in the world. Apparently, Taylor Swift knew her worth and expected a deal that reflected her value. The NFL has argued that over 100 million views are enough payment for a halftime performance. However, for someone like Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour became the highest-grossing tour in history and a massive phenomenon, it begs to differ. Ultimately, the public remains uncertain whether this claim is true or not.
Sources say Taylor had two main requests that the NFL refused to meet, which led to her rejection to perform in the 2026 Super Bowl. Early in her career, Taylor had an issue with her label in which she had completely lost rights to her music and only regained the rights months later. Ownership of music is a common theme of importance to self-made artists like Taylor. So when her demand to keep the rights to her music was not met, it was only reasonable that she would decline the offer to perform.
Also, the NFL has never paid its artists for performing at the superbowl which is a reasonably discouraging factor for any artists. Although the NFL covers some of the production, there have been multiple cases of artists having to use their own money for the performance in order to give the viewer the best experience possible. The Weekend, in his 2021 Halftime performance, was said to have spent 7 million dollars of his own money on his show.
Taylor Swift, a highly renowned and successful artist known for her large, extravagant, and expensive tours, with her Eras tour having a budget exceeding $ 100 million-would most likely have to spend her own money on the performance. To be paid nothing while also likely having to spend a large amount of money is discrediting her value as an artist.
“She wasn’t asking for favors; she was asking for respect,” said a music insider.
To perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show, Taylor would only lose money. All of her hard work and dedication to the performance would be trivial to her, considering she doesn’t need the exposure the Super Bowl halftime show usually provides. She would have no ownership over her performance.
Swift spent years fighting a battle against Scooter Braun for ownership of her first six albums’ master recordings. Because of this, Taylor Swift will always stand up for herself and her rights. She’s a woman who knows her worth, and the NFL was simply not meeting her demands, resulting in her rejection of the offer. However, due to varying sources, it is still undetermined whether or not the news of Swift declining the Super Bowl Halftime show is authentic or solely fan-driven.
