NFL Taps Jay-Z for February Halftime Performance

The NFL will put rapper Jay-Z on the Super Bowl LXI halftime stage on Feb. 14 at a stadium near Los Angeles. The league announced the booking Tuesday. The announcement did not say whether he will be the sole headliner or whether guest performers will join him.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has not played the NFL championship game before, though his company Roc Nation has produced the halftime show since 2019 and helps pick each year's act. The league said in a statement that speculation about guests will start now, adding, "Of course, his wife, Beyoncé, will be atop the list."

The announcement came after Jay-Z played two shows last weekend at the Los Angeles venue where the Super Bowl will be held. Those concerts marked 30 years since the release of his debut album Reasonable Doubt, and he is touring in honor of that anniversary.

Jay-Z called the run "a dream come true" and said he had gone from "Reasonable Doubt" to the halftime stage. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he had asked for one thing when the league first signed Roc Nation: that Jay-Z take the stage himself "whenever the moment felt right to him."

Super Bowl LXI is set for 14 February near Los Angeles. The halftime performance falls on that date, and the league has not named any supporting acts.