*NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Jay-Z has long wanted to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, even if the rap mogul wasn’t always ready to commit.
Goodell discussed the upcoming performance Tuesday, Oct. 27, on Apple Music’s “The Ebro Show” with hosts Ebro Darden and Eddie Francis. He said the possibility came up early in the NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z.
“We’ve always wanted this to happen at some point. It was something I asked him about at the time when we first started this, and he said, ‘Yeah, we’ll see. Let’s see what happens.’ But it was clear he wanted it to happen,” Goodell said, per Billboard. “We’ve talked about it a couple of times.”
Goodell cited several reasons why 2027 felt like the right time. “I think the fact that he’s in his 30th anniversary year of his first album, he just finished his tour, it’s L.A., he’s at that point as the GOAT that he’s ready for it,” he explained. “He was pretty clear: ‘I wanna do it this year.’ I guess I was more excited than anything, maybe a little surprised, because he keeps putting it off a little bit.”
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The commissioner also believes Jay-Z already knows what he wants to bring to the stage. “But I think he’s already got his vision; he already understands what he wants to do,” Goodell said. He described Jay-Z as “a genius, and not just a creative genius in a musical sense.”
“I trust him, and I trust his point of view,” Goodell added.
The booking fulfills a wish Goodell has held since 2019, when the NFL brought Roc Nation on board to produce the halftime show. In announcing Jay-Z as the headliner, Goodell said his “one request” back then was for Jay-Z to perform “whenever the moment felt right to him.”
That moment comes Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Apple Music, the NFL and Roc Nation announced the performance Oct. 26, EURweb reported.
The show also coincides with a milestone in Jay-Z’s career: the 30th anniversary of his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt.” His JAY-Z 30 celebration included three sold-out, record-setting performances at Yankee Stadium.
“From ‘Reasonable Doubt’ to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” Jay-Z said in the announcement. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”
Roc Nation will executive produce the telecast, with Hamish Hamilton directing.
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