Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show, Puck's Dave Brooks reported Tuesday, citing multiple sources. Jay-Z's company, Roc Nation, has worked with the NFL on the show since 2019. Deadline said a music industry insider confirmed the booking. The NFL and Roc Nation haven't commented. Puck said Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber were also considered. The game is Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Jay-Z plays two shows at SoFi this Friday and Saturday. Puck said he could announce it there. He's 56, has won 25 Grammys and has never performed at a Super Bowl. In 2024, he told Entertainment Tonight he thought it would be "selfish to pick myself." Then he added, "Maybe one year."

The Problem Is Who Did the Picking (OutKick's Bobby Burack, SI's Kristen Wong)

Critics say the booking process is the real story.

The internet treated it as a punchline. Merriam-Webster's X account posted, "Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year should be 'dictionary.'" It got more than 21,000 likes. One fan called it "the funniest conflict of interest in music." Another compared it to Dick Cheney, who led the search for George W. Bush's running mate and ended up with the job himself.

A sportswriter compared it to a sitcom. Sports Illustrated's Kristen Wong opened her column with Dwight Schrute from The Office, who announces to a group of disappointed kids, "I pick... me." She wrote that Jay-Z's reported announcement "perhaps evokes a similar feeling among the musically-inclined football-watching crowd." She asked about Harry Styles: "Why can't that be this year? Oh, right, because Jay-Z picked himself."

The league could still say no, one critic says. OutKick's Bobby Burack wrote, "No serious person believes Roger Goodell and the NFL are powerless to veto the performer at their own championship game." He ended his column this way: "If Jay Z's latest solution is to choose himself, the NFL ought to take someone else to the decision."

He's a Fine Pick Whose Turn Was Coming (The Big Lead's Kyle Koster, Sporting News' Daniel Chavkin)

Defenders say he's one of rap's biggest names and his turn was coming.

Most people in his seat would do the same, one writer says. The Big Lead's Kyle Koster wrote, "And honestly, jokes aside, he's a perfectly fine choice." He added that people "can criticize Jay-Z for bestowing himself with the microphone all they want but most of them would do the exact same thing if ever given the chance."

His turn was coming, a writer says. Sporting News' Daniel Chavkin wrote that Jay-Z's ties to the NFL mean "it was probably only a matter of time before he performed at halftime of the Super Bowl." He called Jay-Z "one of the most popular and famous rappers of all time." Puck's sources said the pick felt "inevitable" and "more compelling" than Cyrus or Bieber.

He still fills stadiums, and his shows draw Emmy nods. Puck reported that his Yankee Stadium shows in July grossed more than $42 million. A Paris show last month brought in $12 million. Every halftime show Roc Nation has produced since 2020 has drawn an Emmy nomination for live variety special. Producer Jesse Collins told Variety, "It's a decision that Jay makes ... He's always picked right!"

He's the Wrong Act for a Super Bowl Crowd (Showbiz411's Roger Friedman, SI's Kristen Wong, OutKick's Bobby Burack)

Skeptics say his hits are old and the halftime audience wants something else.

Twelve minutes of rap is a hard sell, one columnist says. Showbiz411's Roger Friedman wrote, "Trust me, America is not ready for a 12 minute Jay Z show in the middle of the Super Bowl." He expects "guest stars galore," including Beyoncé. If she sings even one song, he wrote, "ratings will soar."

The kids want pop, a critic says. Wong wrote, "The kids don't wanna dance to Jay-Z. They wanna dance to 'Flowers.'" She argued that "rap and hip-hop arguably already had their time in the spotlight." She picked Cyrus, Styles and Kelly Clarkson instead. His last studio album, 4:44, came out in 2017. One fan joked online that he would need "like 30 guests."

Recent halftime shows have lost viewers, a critic notes. Burack wrote that viewership fell 5.7% during Bad Bunny's halftime show in February. It fell 4% during Kendrick Lamar's show in 2025. He argued that Jay-Z's "political history is even more extensive." He pointed to Jay-Z's past criticism of President Donald Trump. "There is little reason to expect Jay Z to reverse that trend," Burack wrote. He did grant that Jay-Z "offers nostalgia."

Where This Lands

Puck reports that Jay-Z picked himself, and Deadline's source says he will headline. The NFL and Roc Nation haven't confirmed it. Critics mock him for picking himself. One says the NFL still has the power to veto him. Defenders say he's a fine pick whose turn was coming. Skeptics say his hits are old and a broad TV audience wants a different act. He could announce it at his SoFi Stadium shows this Friday or Saturday.

Sources