Do Super Bowl halftime performers get paid? How much Kendrick Lamar made for his 2025 show
When rapper Kendrick Lamar took the stage for the halftime show at Super Bowl 2025, it marked the multiple Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist's second time performing at the big game. It also made him the first hip-hop solo headliner in Super Bowl history.
But Lamar, who swept the Grammy Awards in all five categories in which he was nominated, winning both Record and Song of the Year, won't take home a paycheck to match these feats. He'll follow other major performers in earning less than the cost of a ticket to the game — if anything at all.
How much do Super Bowl halftime show performers get paid?
Sunday's matchup in New Orleans between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is, as usual, a gargantuan financial bonanza — but not for Lamar, who didn't collect a paycheck for his performance. That's because halftime artists at the Super Bowl only get paid union scale, a minimum guaranteed in a union contract, according to published reports.
Assuming the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union's most recent contract applies, that would translate to about $1,000 a day, People Magazine reported.
Why doesn't the NFL pay Super Bowl halftime performers?
The NFL has a long-standing policy of only paying union scale for halftime performers, who in the past have included Usher, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.
The NFL not only has a track record of never paying big bucks to performers, it has even charged some artists for the privilege — and massive exposure — of performing during the Super Bowl. The NFL in 2015 solicited fees to perform from Rihanna, Coldplay and Katy Perry, who in the end rejected the notion.
Perry agreed to perform but not to pay for the opportunity, telling Forbes: "I want to be able to say I played the Super Bowl based on my talents and my merit, thank you very much."
The NFL does cover fees such as travel expenses for performers.
Why do Super Bowl halftime performers do the show for free?
Why would musicians accustomed to earning six or seven figures a show agree to perform for a relative pittance?
For one thing, its a chance to showcase their music before a audience of more than 100 million people in the U.S. alone without having to foot the costs of producing a giant show, as the NFL does cover travel and production expenses. And that can be pricey. The NFL reportedly spent about $13 million to cover the costs of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's 2020 halftime show.