Super Bowl Fever: The Most Expensive Super Bowl Half-Time Shows Ever, Ranked

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It is a known fact that the halftime performers at the Super Bowl are not paid by the National Football League (NFL). The NFL believes that they bring in much more business to the artists and for that reason, they do not pay for the artists to perform at the Super Bowl half time show, but they do offer to shoulder the costs of the performances. The list below shows the most expensive performances in the history of Super Bowl Half Time shows.

Beyoncé

There is no doubt that Beyoncé can put on a show and she showed it off once more when she performed at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show with the Destiny’s Child to perform during the half-time show of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The Single Ladies singer who got plenty of attention when she performed with LED lights and fire on the show has somewhat overshadowed her former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams onstage. Other than the LED lights and fire, the rest of the budget went to the practical costs such as the lodgings of the back-up dancers. Her grand solo gig which took place in 2013 was considered to be the least expensive show ever with just around $600,000.

Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi

The Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show which took place on February 3, 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia was headlined by Maroon 5, with rappers Big Boi and Travis Scott as guests. It was the most controversial show since prior to it happening; numerous musicians have turned down the offers to perform to support Colin Kaepernich who accused NFL at the time for colluding against him for his national anthem protests against the police brutality. When the Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi accepted the invitation, they were highly criticized by the fans as well as the critics. The costs of their show at the Super Bowl is estimated to be around $5 million.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s performance at the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas was spectacular when she entered the venue through the roof using a gold trapeze. It is believed that the difficulty of the stunt she pulled and the numerous drones used for the performance has hiked up the costs of her production on Super Bowl. Music Icon Lady Gaga is probably one of the artists who perform with extravagant production, which makes Super Bowl halftime show production costs not at all surprising when it totaled to $10 million.

Aerosmith and NSync

Aerosmith and NSync have brought a lot of genres to the table other than rock and pop although their show was dubbed as Kings of Rock and Pop. Aerosmith and NSync performed for the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show which took place on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium. They have a lot of guests at the time including rapper Nelly and R&B singer Mary J Blige as well as Britney Spears. Their performance is estimated to have cost the NFL around $11 million.

Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars’ performance on the Super Bowl was so iconic that it even received two Emmy Award nominations - Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special and Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program. The Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show which occurred on February 2, 2014 was held on the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey which was headlined by Bruno Mars and his band called The Hooligans. During that time, he appeared with special guests The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Although the amount spent on the show was not disclosed to the public, reports suggests that the show costs around $11 million.

Prince

Prince’s performance on the Super Bowl half time show is considered to be the best one in the history of Super Bowl. The late Purple Rain singer has performed in a downpour and belter out the Let’s Go Crazy and even covered the song of Queen We Will Rock You. The crowd went nuts when Prince performed Purple Rain during downpour. The said performance took place on Super Bowl XLI last February 4, 2007 and although the cost of the show was not disclosed, it was estimated to be around $12 million.

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira

The Columbian singer Shakira have teamed up with American singer Jennifer Lopez for the Bowl LIV Halftime Show which took place on February 2, 2020 at the Hard Rock Stadium. The two rocked the stage for about 25 minutes at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. They had plenty of dancers and had a huge production behind them which racked up the costs of their show. The estimate production cost of their show is around $13 million.

The Weeknd

The Weeknd is the most recent performer for the Super Bowl half-time show and by far the most expensive show ever. He performed during the half-time show for Super Bowl LV which took place on February 7, 2021 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Headlining the Super Bowl half-time show is probably one of the most coveted gig for The Weeknd which is the reason why he used up his own money to fund his grand production. He spent around $7 million of his own money and NFL spent around $10 million for the show which is said to be the only budget allowed for the half time show. The Weeknd’s production cost totaled to $17 million overall.

Sources: Money, SCMP, Esquire