Super Bowl Halftime: Jay-Z selects himself to headline 2026 show
The rapper, who helped shape the NFL's entertainment strategy through his Roc Nation partnership, has booked himself for the event's 30th-anniversary celebration.
By Abigail Brooks ·
Jay-Z will perform at the Super Bowl halftime show next year. The artist announced the booking as part of a package celebrating three decades in the music industry. The announcement lands while Jay-Z serves as an executive producer for a new eight-part HBO documentary called JAŸ-Z IN 8, which he is developing with producer Rick Rubin.
The self-selection raises questions about the relationship between Jay-Z and the NFL. In 2019, his company Roc Nation entered a partnership with the league to help produce entertainment and work on social justice initiatives. That deal was struck while former quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained unsigned after kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. Critics argued the partnership allowed the NFL to improve its public image without fully addressing its treatment of Kaepernick.
Kaepernick described the 2019 deal as disappointing. He said Jay-Z’s organization undermined the protest movement by accepting a role that did not demand meaningful accountability from the league. Jay-Z defended the partnership by saying it was time to move from protest to action. He framed the collaboration as a way to create opportunities for artists and drive social change.
Jay-Z’s business ventures have also faced scrutiny. In 2015, he acquired the streaming service Tidal, marketing it as an artist-first alternative to major tech platforms. The service promised better compensation and gave musicians a stake in the platform. In 2021, Square, now known as Block, paid $297 million in cash and stock for a majority stake in Tidal. Jay-Z joined the company’s board as part of that transaction.
Tidal later introduced a direct-payment experiment that sent part of subscriber fees to the most-streamed artist. In 2023, the company ended that program. It acknowledged the system disproportionately benefited top artists and left less funding for emerging musicians. The company redirected those funds to its emerging-artist initiative.
The new HBO series will revisit Jay-Z’s lyrics, influences, and creative process across eight episodes. The show follows a series of anniversary concerts. Jay-Z will also continue his role in the NFL’s entertainment programming. The Super Bowl performance is the next major public event on his 2026 schedule.
