Exactly how much singers get paid for the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

If you've found yourself with a sudden interest in NFL thanks to the blossoming relationship between Taylor Swift and her football beau Travis Kelce, you'd be well aware that the big Super Bowl event is coming up on Monday.

This year, the Kansas City Chiefs will go head-to-head with the San Francisco 49ers vying for the prestigious title. If you're a little more invested in the entertainment side rather than the sporting fanfare (remind me - what's a touchdown again?), it's highly likely you're tuned into the official Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The Super Bowl generates billions of dollars each year - advertising agencies, the NFL, broadcasters, promoters, sponsors, players and tourism revenue for host cities. With that kind of cash, you'd think the Halftime Show performers would be paid millions of dollars for their efforts. But guess what... they get paid ZIPPO.

So, how much do Super Bowl halftime performers get paid?

Yep, you read the above correctly. Despite what you might think, Super Bowl Halftime performers don't really get paid a fee for singing and dancing on the pitch. In a statement released to The Independent, an NFL spokesperson said the league, "covers all costs associated with the show and does pay the halftime performers' union scale."

Forbes then clarified that the union scale is "a fraction of the six and seven-figure sums" they usually make. So while we might not know exactly what kind of money exchanges hands between the NFL and the performer, we can gather that it is a pittance compared to what usually lands in the bank accounts. 

It looks like their travel, accommodation, food and production costs are covered by the NFL but after that they might receive a couple of clams to buy a hot dog after their performance.

However, it's important to note that the production costs involved are staggeringly high. In 2020 Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's 13-minute Super Bowl Halftime Show reportedly cost the NFL $13 million. In 2017 Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Halftime extravaganza cost around $10 million and Prince's show was around $12 million in 2007.

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performing at the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show. Image: Getty.

Not only do Super Bowl halftime performers not receive a fee from the NFL, often the pleasure to do so comes at a big cost to them financially. 

When The Weeknd performed at the 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show, it reportedly cost $17 million in production. His manager told Billboard that of that hefty price tag, The Weeknd put in $7 million of his own hard-earned dollars to put on the show he wanted.

So after all of that if you're wondering who the highest-paid Super Bowl Halftime performer is, it's actually a bit of a misnomer because... well... we don't really know how much any of them got paid.

Why do performers say yes to the Super Bowl halftime show?

Before you go and set up a GoFundMe page for Usher, let's break down all of the reasons why a chance to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show is actually incredibly lucrative for these A-listers.

The level of exposure they receive before, during and after performing at the Super Bowl leads to multiple streams of revenue making the lack of paycheck all worth their while.

Usher will be performing during the Super Bowl halftime show this year. Image: Getty.

According to Business Insider Rihanna is worth an estimated $1.4 billion making her one of the wealthiest musicians in the world despite not having released new music since 2016. At the end of the day she's an incredibly savvy businesswoman so there ain't no way she's agreeing to do the Super Bowl Halftime Show for free unless there's something in it for her.

In the lead-up to her 2023 halftime performance, Rihanna released a Savage x Fenty Super Bowl collection, and she was a collaborator on a capsule collection with a major sporting goods company. 

During the show, she pulled out a Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Blotting Powder, It led to an 833 per cent increase on Google searches. That's real-time marketing paying off in a very big way for Ms RiRi.

When The Weeknd performed in 2021 his music sales had a 385 per cent increase and it drove his song "Blinding Lights" into the stratosphere - surpassing two billion streams making it one of the biggest songs in history. 

After Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's Super Bowl halftime performance in 2020, J.Lo had a 335 per vent streaming increase on Spotify and Shakira's increased by 230 per cent. All of that exposure leads to business opportunities, streaming hikes, new albums, tours and beyond for these artists. And yup, you guessed it, all of those avenues lead to more big bucks.

So on paper they might not get paid a very impressive fee but the residuals are well worth their 7-15 minutes or performing. And at the end of the day, it certainly marks a big touchdown in their careers.

Will you be tuning into the Super Bowl halftime show? Tell us in the comment below.

Featured Image: Getty.