Usher Gets $1,000 For Super Bowl Halftime Show: Here's Why Performers Don't Get Paid
Usher is set to headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday, but unlike many lucrative gigs, he won't be receiving a paycheck for this prestigious performance.
Super Bowl halftime show performers are never paid for the gig, according to the NFL.
Usher, like his predecessors, will be compensated on a "union scale," guaranteeing a minimum wage, Forbes reported. This would amount to over $1,000 a day, according to the current SAG-AFTRA contract.
However, as per the NFL's practice, the league covers the show's production costs and the artists' travel expenses.
"We do not pay the artists. We cover expenses and production costs," a spokesperson for the NFL told Forbes in 2016.
Putting a Super Bowl halftime performance together can cost upward of $10 million, according to reports. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's 2020 halftime show cost the NFL $13 million, Reuters reported.
Despite the absence of direct compensation, the show attracts top-tier talent each year due to the unparalleled exposure and subsequent boosts in streaming and sales.
The Super Bowl halftime show garners over 100 million views, with Rihanna's performance last year drawing an average of 118.7 million viewers across TV and online platforms, according to Fox Sports.
The exposure frequently boosts album and tour sales for artists, even when they have no new releases to promote.
Historically, the day after the Super Bowl, artists experienced a surge in streams and music sales.
For instance, after the 2020 halftime show, Shakira reportedly saw a 230% spike in streams, while Lopez's discography increased by 335%, according to Spotify. Justin Timberlake's music sales soared by 534% after his 2018 performance, Billboard reported.
Usher is expected to see the same benefit. He is set to drop his new album, "Coming Home," Friday and kick off a tour in August.
The "OMG" singer recently teased that he is gearing up to deliver a memorable show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, complete with "special guests," choreography, costume changes, and of course, his hit songs.
"It will definitely be an event," Usher told Billboard of his upcoming halftime show performance.
He also told Entertainment Weekly that he will have a 15-minute performance instead of the 13 minutes Super Bowl halftime show headliners usually get.
Usher described his show as "30 years in the making" and said he can't wait for fans to see it.
"I would hope that people would feel excited -- whether they knew my music or they just got to meet me for the first time -- and that I'm all passion, man," he told EW. "And that this 8-year-old, who now is a 45-year-old, feels just as free as the first time that I thought any of this could be possible."
Super Bowl LVIII, which will see the San Francisco 49ers face off against the Kansas City Chiefs, kicks off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. EST. It will air on CBS and Paramount+.
