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Jay-Z, NFL extend Super Bowl partnership

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints
By Autumn Hawkins | Last updated Oct 19, 2024 10:10 AM ET

Jay-Z and the NFL have reportedly extended their contract.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that Jay-Z will continue to work with the NFL, Bloomberg reports.

“It’s been a mutually positive relationship, I’m not sure either one of us really spend much time talking about contracts,” Goodell said at the NFL’s owner meeting in Atlanta on Tuesday (Oct. 15). “Jay is happy. Desiree Perez is happy. I’m happy, so we’re all good.”

Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, inked a five-year deal with the NFL in 2019 to come on board as the live music entertainment strategist. The partnership is valued at $25 million to produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show, according to ESPN. In addition to choosing the performer for the world’s biggest stage, the rapper and businessman will continue to lead the league’s social justice program Inspire Change. According to the NFL, the Inspire Change campaign has created $55 million in grants for social justice organizations with team contributions equating to more than $248 million to non-profits fighting for change.

Jay-Z’s Super Bowl Halftime Backlash

The road to the Super Bowl has not been all positive for the 24-time Grammy-winning rapper and he has faced several controversies along the way. Jay was criticized for working with the NFL after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was seemingly blackballed from the league for kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. The now historic moment was made by the former pro baller in an effort to shed light on Black Americans killed by police brutality.

This year the rapper was also under fire for choosing Kendrick Lamar for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show. This season’s Super Bowl will be held in New Orleans, the home of rapper Lil Wayne and many of his fans, rap peers such as Nicki Minaj came to defend the emcee for being overlooked by Jay. Following the backlash, it was later cleared up that Jay is the one who chooses the performer each year.

So far Jay has chosen Shakira and Jennifer Lopez; The Weeknd; Dr. Dre with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak; Rihanna; and, most recently, Usher, who was joined by Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Will.i.am, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris to perform at the Super Bowl. The next Super Bowl will be on Feb. 9 headlined by Kendrick Lamar.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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