On Tuesday, Dave Brooks of Puck reported that Jay-Z has selected himself to headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show. Brooks cited multiple unnamed sources. As of Wednesday, the pick has not been confirmed by anyone in a position to confirm it: representatives for the NFL and Roc Nation did not respond to Puck’s request for comment, the NFL, Apple and Roc Nation did not immediately respond to Adweek either, and Action Network reported the same day, “Neither the NFL nor Roc Nation has confirmed it.”
Brooks reported that the sources called the pick one that has “long felt inevitable,” and that Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber were also considered for the slot before it went to Jay-Z. TMZ had earlier reported that Harry Styles was among the names considered. Wikipedia’s Super Bowl LXI page already lists Jay-Z as the halftime performer; its citation is the same Puck report.
The Man Who Makes The Pick
The halftime headliner is, in effect, Jay-Z’s decision to make. In August 2019 his company, Roc Nation, became the NFL’s live music entertainment strategist, advising on and co-producing the league’s major performances, the halftime show among them. The deal was reported at $5 million a year and was renewed in 2024 for another five years. Puck and Sports Business Journal describe Jay-Z as the “chief decision-maker on who plays the Super Bowl halftime show.”
The headliners chosen under the partnership: Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in 2020, The Weeknd in 2021, Dr. Dre and guests in 2022, Rihanna in 2023, Usher in 2024, Kendrick Lamar in 2025 and Bad Bunny in 2026. Jay-Z has never headlined the show himself. Asked by Entertainment Tonight in January 2024 about picking himself, he said: “I don’t know. I thought it would be selfish to pick myself too early. Maybe one year. Maybe.”
The Beyoncé Question
Beyoncé is not named in the Puck report — not as headliner and not as a guest. Pro Football Network reported Tuesday that “there is no confirmed Beyoncé appearance attached to the report,” and Action Network stated it in one line: “No report links Beyoncé to the show.” The only mention of her in Brooks’s reporting is about the show around her husband: a Jay-Z performance would, he wrote, “surely lean on his Rolodex, if not his marriage [to Beyoncé] to deliver those kinds of cameos.”
Her name moved anyway, in the prediction markets. On Kalshi’s halftime headliner market, Jay-Z’s contract jumped 37 points to 93 cents after the report; Beyoncé’s rose 32 points to 39 cents. Action Network attributed her price to the market’s plural “headliner(s)” wording and to traders’ expectations, not to any reporting.
Her own halftime record is two appearances: she headlined Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans in 2013, with a Destiny’s Child reunion in the set, and she guested at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara in 2016, performing “Formation” in Coldplay’s show alongside Bruno Mars. A Super Bowl LXI appearance would be her third. None has been reported.
The Game
Super Bowl LXI, the championship game of the 2026 season, is scheduled for Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California — the stadium’s second Super Bowl, after LVI in 2022, and the first played on Valentine’s Day. Kickoff is listed at 6:30 p.m. ET. ABC carries the game, its first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XL in 2006, with ESPN producing the telecast and Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call; it also streams on Disney+, the ESPN app and NFL+. Apple Music sponsors the halftime show, as it has since Super Bowl LVII.
What Happens Next
Brooks reported that a formal announcement could come this weekend: Jay-Z plays SoFi Stadium on Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, in two nearly sold-out shows. If the NFL, Roc Nation or Apple Music confirms the pick, the Daily will update this story.
The Report, In Short
Status: reported by Puck on Tuesday, October 20, 2026; not confirmed by the NFL, Roc Nation or Apple Music.
Reported headliner: Jay-Z, who has selected the halftime performer since 2019 through Roc Nation.
Beyoncé: not named in the report as headliner or guest.
The game: Super Bowl LXI, Sunday, February 14, 2027, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California, on ABC. Halftime sponsor: Apple Music.
Sources: Puck (Dave Brooks, October 20, 2026), as summarized by Sports Business Journal; Adweek and Action Network (October 20, 2026); Pro Football Network (October 20, 2026). Game details: Reuters (October 7, 2026). Photo: sashimomura, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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