Highlights
- Usher will be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas, but he won't be getting paid for it.
- Artists don't get paid for the Super Bowl slot, but they gain a lot of notoriety from the high-profile performance.
- Beyonce and Rihanna also performed at the Super Bowl in the past without receiving compensation.
Usher was just announced as the Super Bowl halftime show’s performer in Las Vegas next year, but the superstar isn’t going to get a huge pay check for the highly coveted spot.
Usher is set to take center stage as the featured performer for the 2014 halftime show. The announcement was made by event sponsor Apple Music on September 24, accompanied by a pair of promotional videos.
One of these videos features Kim Kardashian breaking the news to the singer over the phone. "It's Kim," the reality star said on camera while in a stylist’s chair. "I finally got the answer to those rumors. It's not about me. It's about you. You're doing the Super Bowl."
"You're playing the Apple Music Halftime Show in Vegas,” Kim added to Usher.
The singer responded by pretending he couldn’t believe the news, saying, "No, for real, don't play like that.” Kim then stands firm, repeating, "I don't have time to play. One, I'm busy. Two, you're doing the Super Bowl."
The SKIMS founder adds that she’s already seen Usher perform live twice, but she warns him that the Super Bowl performance "gotta be different." "So it'll be like, me, my entire family, all my kids, maybe like, five to 10 friends," she continued, insisting on an invitation. "Who should I sent my ticket request to?"
Usher is getting a lot of attention for the new gig. But as for compensation, truth is that Usher is going to make nothing for the performance. No one gets paid for the Super Bowl slot.
Though they may not get a pay check, artists get a ton of notoriety from the halftime slot, and many make pop culture history with their out-of-the-box performances, making it a worthwhile endeavor albeit a free gig.
"We do not pay the artists," an NFL representative explained to Forbes in 2016. "We cover expenses and production costs."
This very well leads to substantial savings for the NFL, given that numerous entertainers command fees exceeding six figures for their performances. The higher the event's profile, the larger the paycheck typically becomes.
To compare, Beyonce was recently compensated a staggering $24 million for her performance at the grand opening of Dubai's Atlantis The Royal Hotel, establishing a new record for the most costly individual performance to date.
But Beyonce, too, didn’t receive compensation when she headlined for the Super Bowl, and neither did Rihanna when she took the stage (while pregnant) this year.