Related videos:
Bad Bunny will not receive a direct paycheck for his performance at the Super Bowl 2026, but that doesn't mean he's at a loss. On the contrary, if everything follows the trend of previous years, he could take home a significant amount of money thanks to the boost his music will receive after his appearance in the halftime show.
The NFL does not pay the artists who perform during the halftime of the big game. What it does cover are the production, setup, and logistics costs of the show. But what many see as a free performance is actually an investment with nearly guaranteed returns: millions of viewers worldwide, headlines, memes, controversies, and, of course, a surge in streams.
According to estimates from Billboard, Bad Bunny generates around 788,500 dollars weekly in the United States solely from digital streams. After the Super Bowl, that figure could skyrocket to 1.7 million dollars in just one week. And if the effect lasts, as it has with other artists, his catalog could continue to generate significant revenue for several more weeks.
Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Rihanna, and The Weeknd, all of whom had recent performances at halftime, saw increases of up to 200% in their streaming revenue. In Lamar's case, his earnings after the show exceeded 2.5 million dollars. Not bad for an event that doesn’t pay a fee, right?
This will not be the first time that Bad Bunny takes the Super Bowl stage. In 2020, he joined Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in a vibrant performance that also featured J Balvin. Also on that list of Latinos who have made history during halftime is Cuban Gloria Estefan, who participated in the editions of 1992 and 1999, making it clear that Latin flavor has always had a place in the most-watched event on American television.
As if that wasn't enough, Bad Bunny will be the first Latino artist to perform solo during the halftime show. And although the decision has sparked criticism—Donald Trump himself claimed not to know who he was and called the choice "ridiculous"—the fact is that whenever the Puerto Rican stirs up controversy, his numbers on various platforms soar even higher.
So no, Bad Bunny will not charge to perform at Levi's Stadium on February 8th. But if all goes as expected, his bank account will sing "Yo perreo sola" with a much juicier rhythm after the Super Bowl.
Filed under: