Jay-Z Will Headline the Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium

Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced this week. The rapper and entrepreneur, whose company Roc Nation has helped produce the show since 2019, will perform at the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, near Los Angeles, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027. The news was revealed during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast of the Cowboys and Eagles this week.

The choice closes a loop that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell described in the league’s announcement: he said that when the league first reached its agreement with Roc Nation, he had “just one request,” that Jay-Z “take the stage himself one day.”

What the NFL announced

According to the NFL’s press release, the halftime show will air on ESPN, ABC and Disney+, and on mobile devices through NFL+. ESPN’s Spanish-language telecast will be available on ESPN Deportes and Disney+, and Univision will carry a separate Spanish-language presentation. Roc Nation will executive produce the telecast and serve as the league’s strategic entertainment advisor for the live performance, and Hamish Hamilton will direct.

“From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” Jay-Z said in the release. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”

Goodell’s full statement said he had “seen the extraordinary impact he has had on the Super Bowl Halftime Show” and that “I couldn’t be more excited for fans around the world to experience the artistry, creativity and cultural impact he will bring to the Super Bowl stage.” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of music and international content, said Jay-Z’s “impact on global music culture is as profound as it is undeniable.”

Jay-Z’s résumé, by the numbers

The NFL release lists Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, as a 25-time Grammy winner and a four-time Emmy winner. He was the first hip-hop artist inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. CBS Sports noted he has been nominated for 89 Grammys and is 56 years old.

The timing ties into his anniversary year. The league said 2026 has been the year of “JAŸ-Z 30,” a celebration of the 30th anniversary of his 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt. As part of it, he played three sold-out concerts at Yankee Stadium that broke attendance records, according to the NFL, along with sold-out shows in London, Paris and Los Angeles.

CBS Sports reported that Jay-Z will be the first rap headliner since Kendrick Lamar, who led the 2025 show with SZA as a guest. Jay-Z has worked behind the scenes of the show for years through Roc Nation’s partnership with the NFL, which began in 2019, but he has not performed in it before.

The data: how big the halftime audience has become

The halftime show is the most-watched music performance of the year, and the last three have each drawn more than 128 million U.S. viewers. Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 performance set the record at 133.5 million viewers, edging Michael Jackson’s 1993 show at 133.4 million, according to Nielsen estimates reported by Billboard. Usher drew 129.3 million in 2024, and Bad Bunny’s show in February 2026 drew 128.2 million, the fourth-largest halftime audience ever.

By The Boston Report’s calculations, the gap between the record and fourth place is just 5.3 million viewers, or about 4%, which means Jay-Z’s show will be measured against a very high bar. Bad Bunny’s show also set a different kind of record: it won seven Emmy Awards, the most for any halftime show, according to the NFL. Kendrick Lamar’s show won the Emmy for outstanding music direction.

Why the pick stands out

Since 2019, the shows produced with Roc Nation have featured headliners from Rihanna to Usher to Bad Bunny. This time, the producer is also the performer, which CBS Sports framed as Jay-Z picking himself. His catalog runs from Reasonable Doubt through hits such as “Empire State of Mind,” his 2009 collaboration with Alicia Keys. The NFL has not announced any guest performers.

Super Bowl LXI is set for SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. Patriots fans can follow New England’s path toward February in our Patriots vs. Dolphins Week 8 preview. For more music news, see our stories on Taylor Swift joining the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the lost 1978 David Bowie concert film heading to arenas.

Sources

• NFL.com: Jay-Z to headline Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show on Feb. 14
• CBS Sports: Jay-Z picks himself to perform for Super Bowl LXI
• Billboard: Jay-Z Headlining Super Bowl Halftime Show at Roger Goodell’s Request
• Billboard: Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show Pulls Fourth-Biggest Audience Ever