Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show on Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The NFL, Apple Music and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation announced the news on Monday night, October 26, 2026, during the Dallas Cowboys–Philadelphia Eagles game — ending years of speculation about when the man who has produced the show from behind the scenes would finally take the stage himself.
For the first time, the artist who has shaped the modern halftime show will perform it. The 25-time Grammy winner has never played a Super Bowl halftime show before, despite Roc Nation producing the event since 2019. That single fact is why Monday’s announcement landed so loudly: this is not just another headliner, it is the producer stepping into the spotlight.
How the announcement happened
The reveal came at halftime of Monday Night Football, the traditional stage for a halftime-show announcement. Apple Music followed with a post declaring the news, and ESPN and other outlets confirmed the date and venue within minutes. Jay-Z said the moment completes a journey that began with his 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” calling the halftime slot a dream come true and a celebration of thirty years of music, work and culture.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he told Jay-Z when their partnership began that he hoped Jay-Z would take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right. February 14, apparently, is when it felt right.
Why the timing fits
2026 has been an anniversary year for Jay-Z. It marks 30 years since “Reasonable Doubt” and 25 years since “The Blueprint,” and he has spent much of the year on anniversary concerts. That run included three nights at Yankee Stadium in July, two nights in London and one in Paris in September, and two closing shows at SoFi Stadium itself on October 23 and 24 — the very stadium where he will perform in February.
Those SoFi shows, according to reports, featured guests including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, John Legend, DJ Khaled and his daughter Blue Ivy Carter. None of those guests has been confirmed for the halftime show, and fans should treat any guest list circulating online as speculation until the NFL or Roc Nation announces it.
What Roc Nation changed about the show
Since Roc Nation took over halftime production in 2019, the show has leaned more heavily into hip-hop and rap, with recent headliners including Rihanna in 2023, Usher in 2024, Kendrick Lamar with SZA in 2025 and Bad Bunny in 2026. The last Super Bowl in Los Angeles, in 2022, featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. Jay-Z’s own set will therefore follow a run of shows he helped create — and will be judged against them.
The game itself will air on ESPN, ABC and Disney+, with streaming through NFL+.
Key takeaways
- Headliner: Jay-Z, announced Monday, October 26, 2026.
- Game: Super Bowl LXI, Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
- First: Jay-Z has never performed a Super Bowl halftime show, though Roc Nation has produced it since 2019.
- TV: ESPN, ABC and Disney+.
- Not yet announced: setlist, guests and staging — anything else is speculation for now.
Bottom line: The producer is finally the performer. After seven years of shaping other artists’ halftime moments, Jay-Z gets his own — on the biggest stage in American television, in the city where he just closed his anniversary tour.
