Afrigather 
With NFL gamers pulling in an average salary of $2.7 million per yr, you’d be forgiven for considering that the musical superstars who lend their talents to crucial recreation of the yr additionally earn thousands and thousands of {dollars}—however you’d be fallacious. Usher is this year’s halftime performer, and he will not be taking house something close to an NFL wage for the large live performance.
The shocking fact is that halftime performers aren’t paid to carry out on the Super Bowl. Per league coverage, the NFL covers all prices associated to the manufacturing of the halftime present, however the expertise would not take house a paycheck (though the NFL foots the invoice for his or her journey bills). In response to Forbes, artists are paid simply $1,000 a day on a minimal wage union scale. Nonetheless, “the halftime present on the Tremendous Bowl stays a extremely coveted spot for a lot of artists,” leisure lawyer Lori Landew advised Forbes again in 2019. “A few of these artists don’t see their look as a political assertion, nor do they see the present as a cultural battleground, however slightly view their reside efficiency as a chance to entertain an enthusiastic crowd and to share their music and their expertise with thousands and thousands of viewers.”
The price of manufacturing, even for only a thirteen-minute section, may also be sky-high. The 2020 efficiency by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira reportedly cost the NFL roughly $13 million. That determine funds the paychecks of as much as 3,000 staffers concerned within the manufacturing, in addition to sophisticated technical parts of the efficiency, like a collapsible, 38-part stage, or the huge audio gear rolled in on 18 carts. Don’t even get us began on the price of awe-inspiring spectacles, like Katy Perry driving into the stadium on a mechanical golden lion, or Woman Gaga parachuting into her efficiency from the roof.
So what’s in it for performers? One thing acquainted to freelance writers in all places: publicity. Acting on one of many world’s greatest, most televised levels can convert into actual monetary acquire within the type of elevated music gross sales. When Justin Timberlake carried out in 2018, his music gross sales rose 534% that very same day; as for Woman Gaga, gross sales of her digital catalog spiked 1000% following her 2017 efficiency. For Usher, the singer may have the chance to advertise his new album, Coming Residence—which will likely be launched two days earlier than the Tremendous Bowl. He’s additionally embarking on a nationwide tour beginning in August 2024.
And lest you suppose the headliners are the one performers working totally free—certainly journeyman dancers must be paid, proper?—suppose once more. The NFL has come underneath fireplace for failing to pay some halftime present dancers, framing them as a substitute as “volunteers.” Throughout The Weeknd’s 2021 halftime present, all dancers rushed the sphere in the identical costumes, however not everybody acquired the identical therapy. In response to an investigation by the Los Angeles Occasions, “paid dancers acquired $712 for present day and $45 per hour for his or her rehearsal time, in addition to a $30 per diem and a $250 COVID stipend if a dancer was requested to report back to a clinic for a take a look at on a nonwork day. Unpaid dancers sat in stadium bleachers for as much as two hours within the chilly whereas ready to rehearse as their paid counterparts spent that point in inexperienced rooms.”
In 2022, the NFL appeared able to repeat its mistake. For a halftime present that includes Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem, NFL producers recruited tons of of “volunteers” to participate in 72 hours of unpaid rehearsals. After backlash from the dance group and SAG-AFTRA (the union representing skilled dancers), executives from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, which produced the halftime present, defended their strategies, saying that they paid 115 dancers.
Hopefully, Usher’s crew will likely be handled with extra respect. In any case, he has so many hits that they’ll be dancing for the total 13 minutes. (As will I from my lounge.)
