The NFL wants more money from its stars, and not the ones getting concussions. Katy Perry confirmed last night on her personal Twitter account that she will be performing at the halftime show of Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix on February 1, 2015, following reports that the NFL asked potential performers to pay to play at the event.
Perry, Rihanna, and Coldplay were all rumored to be finalists for the coveted performance slot back in August, but the NFL was reportedly having trouble booking the act thanks to its proposal that the selected performer should provide the NFL with financial compensation and/or a percentage of post-Super Bowl tour revenue for the opportunity to perform in front of over 100 million people. Though Perry was confirmed as the halftime show entertainer by anonymous sources with Billboard back in October, no word was given as to the terms of the agreement.
While the idea of paying to perform sounds a bit outrageous, reasons for the proposal include the NFL’s tradition of covering the exorbitant costs of the halftime show’s production, as well as the artist’s travel and lodging expenses. Traditionally, Super Bowl artists have played for free due to the benefit of the high-volume exposure, but this is the first year the NFL has suggested that an artist actually offer compensation for the opportunity. For a company aiming to more than quadruple its record-breaking $6 billion in revenue by 2027, glorified penny pinching may be in order.
Understandably, the proposal attracted a plethora of negative reactions from artists reps with some proposing to produce a halftime show on a separate network. Perry’s inclusion in the halftime show is not necessarily an admission of compliance to the NFL’s proposal, however. Five days before Billboard‘s initial announcement of Perry’s selection as the Super Bowl halftime performer, Perry appeared on ESPN’s College Gameday and specifically stated “I’m not the kind of girl who would pay to play the Super Bowl.”
We’ve reached out to representatives for Perry to find out more details about the proposed compensation, and will update this post as soon as we get a response.
