Do halftime performers get paid at the Super Bowl?

Image Source: Getty / Gregory Shamus

Rihanna’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl on February 12 was unprecedented. In addition to delivering a medley of her greatest hits, the singer and entrepreneur took the moment to announce her second pregnancy, and went on to make history as the first pregnant halftime show performer. From the first few chords of “B*tch Better Have My Money” to the swelling crescendo of “Diamonds,” Rihanna put on an unforgettable show — but did she do it all for nothing?

Do halftime performers get paid at the Super Bowl?

“The NFL covers all expenses associated with the show and the cast members are union paid,” an NFL spokesman told POPSUGAR. “This isn’t a performance fee, but the artists are actually paid union rates.”

Under NFL policy, the league doesn’t pay performers an appearance fee, but they do pay an artist union scale: a minimum payment set by the actors’ union. That figure, given by the Screen Actors Guild, averages $1,030 a day, according to Newsweek. For dancers, the figure ranges from $788 to $1,030 per day and $607 per day for rehearsals.

The career milestone seems to be enough without additional payments. Recent halftime acts include Eminem, Dr. dr Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige in 2022 and The Weeknd, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in previous years. Other big names on stage include Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Lenny Kravitz, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.

Who Pays for the Super Bowl Halftime Show?

The league does not offer an appearance fee, but it is common for the NFL to cover the cost of the halftime show within a given budget. “We don’t pay the artists,” an NFL spokesman told Forbes in 2016. “We cover the expenses and production costs.”

Some performers even invest their own money to make their time on the pitch as memorable as possible. Billboard reports The Weeknd spent $7 million in 2021 to perfect his own halftime show.

While Rihanna didn’t use her time on the field to announce her ninth album, she scored major points for one of the most stunning pregnancy reveals on live television. “When you become a mother, something just happens that you feel like you can take on anything and do anything,” she told a news conference earlier this month, adding that becoming a mother has helped her overcome her fear of Appearances to cope with Super Bowl. “As scary as it was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s an intoxicating edge to the challenge of anything.”