With tens of thousands of people in attendance at the game itself, and millions more watching from home, the Super Bowl halftime show is one of the biggest stages in the world. It doesn’t come with a big paycheck for performers, though. League policy states that while the NFL will cover production costs — some of which can be quite substantial, as Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s 2020 performance reportedly cost around $13 million to produce — the headliners themselves receive minimal compensation on a “union scale,” which amounts to around a few hundred dollars for the show and slightly more for the rehearsals leading up to it. That’s not to say performers don’t benefit financially, though. In 2018, Justin Timberlake saw his music sales rise 534% on the day of his halftime show, and the year prior, Lady Gaga’s digital sales spiked 1,000%.
