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Jay-Z is the perfect Super Bowl shill for a league of billionaires
SportsEntertainmentMusicMusic News•October 28, 2026 at 9:15 AMNational

Jay-Z is the perfect Super Bowl shill for a league of billionaires

By Lee Escobedo•The Guardian Music

The rapper lends the NFL a veneer of credibility but is unlikely to push back on the establishment figures who run the leagueOn Monday the NFL named Jay-Z as the headliner for this season’s Super Bowl half-time show. His company, Roc Nation, produces the show under a 2019 deal reportedly worth $5m a year, and the agreement was extended for another five years in 2024. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said his one request when the partnership began was that Jay-Z “take the stage himself one day“.Goodell’s wish makes total sense: Jay-Z is the perfect choice for the half-time show, and that’s not a compliment. The NFL wants a shill who can still pass for a rebel, and nobody in American music plays that part better than Jay-Z. Continue reading...

The rapper lends the NFL a veneer of credibility but is unlikely to push back on the establishment figures who run the league

On Monday the NFL named Jay-Z as the headliner for this season’s Super Bowl half-time show. His company, Roc Nation, produces the show under a 2019 deal reportedly worth $5m a year, and the agreement was extended for another five years in 2024. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said his one request when the partnership began was that Jay-Z “take the stage himself one day“.

Goodell’s wish makes total sense: Jay-Z is the perfect choice for the half-time show, and that’s not a compliment. The NFL wants a shill who can still pass for a rebel, and nobody in American music plays that part better than Jay-Z.

Continue reading...

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