Rihanna won’t be paid for Super Bowl halftime show due to old NFL rule

Eminem takes the knee during Super Bowl Halftime Show

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Rihanna is set to take to the stage at the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona in what will be one of the most-watched musical performances of the year. However, the illustrious popstar – who took a six-year hiatus from music before returning for the championship – will not make any money from her anticipated appearance.

NFL players enjoy an annual average salary of $2.7million, which makes it particularly surprising that halftime show performers aren’t paid to work the Super Bowl. According to the league’s policy, the NFL covers all costs related to the production of the halftime show – including travel expenses – but the artist does not make any money.

Even for a 13-minute performance, production costs are often immense. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s performance at Super Bowl LIV in Miami cost the NFL $13m, which covered the paycheques of the thousands who worked on the show as well as the technical elements of the production, including a collapsible stage made up of 38 parts as well as the enormous audio equipment rolled in on 18 carts. 

The artists may not get paid, but the exposure and publicity makes a Super Bowl halftime performance absolutely worth it. Performing on one of the world’s biggest, most televised stages converts into real financial gain in the form of increased music sales with over 100 million people watching the game.

After Lady Gaga played the show in 2018, her music sales spiked 1000% while Justin Timberlake saw a 534% increase in musical downloads that very same day. However, the Super Bowl halftime show is not the guaranteed public relations hit it was in the past. 

Following the Colin Kaepernick fallout, Cardi B and even Rihanna turned the event down in the past in solidarity with the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. Artists who accepted it, like Maroon 5, have since been criticised for accepting the gig and failing to boycott the NFL.

Rihanna’s decision to play the Super Bowl halftime show came as a surprise, although the NFL have worked closely with Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation to produce the halftime show and repair the league’s reputation. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said: “I can’t believe I even said yes. It was one of those things that even when I announced it, I was like, ‘OK, I can’t take it back. Now it’s like, final.”

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It’s not just the artists who don’t get paid, but also the dancers. The NFL has been heavily scrutinised int he past for failing to pay backup performers as they are labelled ‘volunteers’ – with the issue coming to a head for The Weeknd’s show at Super Bowl LV. According to the Los Angeles Times, ‘paid dancers received $712 for a day and $45 per hour for their rehearsal time, as well as a $30 per diem and a $250 COVID stipend if a dancer was asked to report to a clinic for a test on a non-work day. However, unpaid dancers sat in stadium bleachers for up to two hours in the cold while waiting to rehearse as their paid counterparts spent that time in green rooms’. 

The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on February 12.

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