An uptick in live Jay-Z performances during 2026 is reportedly set to continue into at least the early stages of 2027.
Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation company has been in charge of selecting the NFL’s annual performer for the Super Bowl halftime show since 2019, reportedly has picked himself to be the headliner at SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl LXI (61), according to Puck News.
Super Bowl 61 is set to take place at the Inglewood, California, stadium, where the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers play their home games; Jay-Z will be acquainted with the venue prior to his Super Bowl performance, as he is scheduled to hold two concert dates at the venue on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24.
Before settling on himself as the Super Bowl halftime act, Jay-Z and Roc Nation reportedly considered artists such as Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Harry Styles, according to TMZ.
Since Roc Nation partnered with the NFL in August 2019, the headliners for the Super Bowl halftime show have included Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, The Weeknd, Dr. Dre, Rihanna, Usher, Kendrick Lamar, and Bad Bunny.
News of Jay-Z reportedly being the main event for the Super Bowl halftime slot predictably elicited a mixed reaction online from NFL fans.
“About to get some good sleep during halftime,” X user @Illicitraps wrote.
Another X user, @RecklezzThreats, disagreed by writing: “As much as yall hate Jay Z dude has hits.”
“For all of his cosplaying as some deep-thinking, pleasantly enlightened revolutionary, he’s still just an everyday narcissist that likes to see his name on sh-t,” X user @WriteAsRae2 added about Jay-Z. “Should’ve called Missy Elliott or maybe Blink 182.”
“I just know Jay-Z is going to reveal the greatest guest list of all time,” X user @OfficialxDarwin wrote.
The rapper could indeed have a star-studded list of guests perform alongside him, including the obvious choice of his wife Beyoncé.
During a three-show run at Yankee Stadium in July to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut commercial album “Reasonable Doubt” and the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint,” Beyoncé, Nas, Alicia Keys, Usher, Eminem, Pharrell, and Rihanna were among the artists that joined Jay-Z on stage.
The first night of Jay-Z’s series of concerts in the Bronx put the longtime partnership between Roc Nation and the NFL back in the spotlight after the rapper took shots at former quarterback Colin Kaepernick during a freestyle, alleging that Kaepernick signed a non-disparagement agreement with NFL as part of a 2019 settlement related to a collusion lawsuit he filed against NFL owners in 2017.
Kaepernick later responded to the diss and disputed Jay-Z’s claim in early September while he was promoting a newly released memoir that dives into the controversy surrounding his 2016 kneeling protest to bring attention to police brutality and racial injustice during what would be his final NFL season.
“First and foremost, what it speaks to is power of people,” Kaepernick said about his reaction to the freestyle. “The backlash that (Jay-Z) received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026.”
“He has built the alignment with the NFL,” Kaepernick added about Jay-Z. “The NFL that has blackballed me, the same NFL that, in a players-owners meeting in 2017, said we need a Black face to help us get rid of the protests.
“I understand why he’s trying to do reputational recovery. I get it. I don’t agree with the actions, but I’m also not gonna respond to everything that’s said about me, because I also believe the actions and the work that I do will speak for themselves.”
In addition to his stop at Yankee Stadium over the summer, Jay-Z also performed at the Roots Picnic festival in May. Most recently, he appeared for two shows in London in early September followed by a concert in Paris on Sept. 10.
The recent run of Jay-Z shows is expected to conclude at SoFi Stadium this weekend, and we now know it could be a dress rehearsal for an even bigger spectacle at the Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day next year.
