Why Bad Bunny Won’t Be Paid For Performance

‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ is due to get underway in Santa Clara, California on Sunday, the 8th of February, as the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. The home of the San Francisco 49ers will host the annual championship, with many tipping the Seahawks to claim victory.

As is tradition, the talk in the build-up has been focused predominately on the halftime show. This year, the star at the forefront of the spectacle will be Bad Bunny.

The Grammy-award winner from Puerto Rico was the first to secure top prize for a Spanish-language album, ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos.’ Making the first of three trips to the stage to collect his awards, Bad Bunny took the opportunity to denounce the actions of ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) by declaring: “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.”

It is expected that the 31-year-old artist will use his platform at the Super Bowl to reaffirm his message against those protecting the United States border, as president Donald Trump is said to be absent from the event. The halftime show has been the pinnacle of the Super Bowl festivities, with Kendrick Lamar pulling in 133.5 million viewers while headlining in 2025.

Why Bad Bunny Won’t Be Paid For Super Bowl Halftime Show

While the show brings in plenty of viewer numbers along with stacks of cash from the advertisement slots amongst other revenue streams, the main performing artist will not receive a dime.

As is customary, the performing artist does the gig for free with the worldwide exposure considered the biggest marketing display possible. This was evident as Lamar’s track ‘Not Like Us’ increased in streaming numbers by 430% following the 2025 halftime extravaganza.

Previous performers have even parted with their own dollars in order to enhance the production to reach new levels. Dr. Dre and The Weeknd both added capital to the already bulging NFL budget to make their efforts, in 2022 and 2021 respectively, hit the heights of viewership in an attempt to break records.

All eyes will be on the halftime show viewing figures as the decision to place Bad Bunny front and centre has highlighted the NFL’s desire to reach further afield for viewership. “I think that there was absolutely a market decision behind selecting Bad Bunny,” said Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, a Latin American studies Professor from The University of Wisconsin. The belief is that the strategy will open more markets internationally for the NFL.

Super Bowl Halftime Show Performers

Bad Bunny will be joined by Green Day, whose front-man, Billy Joe Armstrong, has also been a vocal critic of President Trump and ICE’s policies, which have been a key factor in putting off the President from attending.

Despite Trump’s absence, his Homeland Security Advisor, Corey Lewandowski, confirmed that ICE would be in attendance.