How much was Rihanna paid for the Super Bowl half-time show?

The NFL pays for all expenses associated with putting on the show, including travel and production costs
Rihanna returned with her first live show in seven years
Getty Images
Lisa McLoughlin 13 February 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Rihanna followed in the footsteps of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga on Sunday when she performed at the Super Bowl halftime show — but she will barely get a penny for it.

No performer gets a large sum for their appearance, instead the NFL pays for all expenses associated with putting on the show, including travel and production costs.

In 2021, The Weeknd reportedly spent $7 million (£5.8 million) of his own money to put on the show, as did Dr Dre the year before that.

However, the NFL reportedly splashed about $13 million (£10.76 million) to cover Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s 2020 half-time show — which covered the cost of production staff, sets and audio equipment.

As for the Umbrella hitmaker’s performance, a league spokesman told Forbes that Apple Music is sharing the costs with the NFL.

An NFL rep told the Independent that the league “covers all costs associated with the show and does pay the halftime performers’ union scale”.

Rihanna & Stars at Super Bowl LVII - In pictures

1/18

Forbes has reported that union scale is “a fraction of the six- and seven-figure sums” performers typically earn regularly.

But after playing arguably the biggest show of their career, artists see a major swing in their music sales and popularity.

Following Lady Gaga’s 2017 set, her album and single sales rocket by 1,000 per cent, while Dr Dre’s 2022 performance saw his album sales increase by 183 per cent.

It’s not just music sales that are impacted as Lopez gained 2.3 million new followers across her social media platforms following her show with Shakira.

Rihanna revealed pregnancy during her Super Bowl half-time show
AP

The Barbadian singer, 34, kicked off the highly-anticipated live performance — her first in seven years — suspended high above the stadium on a floating stage.

Dressed in red, the star made a knowing look to the camera and then opened her jacket and stroked her pronounced stomach.

The news was later confirmed by her representative.

Rihanna welcomed her first child, a boy, with partner A$AP Rocky in May. The couple announced the star was pregnant with her first child in January 2021 — only a few months after they publically shared they were an item.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in