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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Why Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Is Behind Picking the Super Bowl Halftime Show Performer is largely explained by the NFL’s 2019 multiyear partnership with Roc Nation: the company became a live-music entertainment strategist and adviser on major-performance artist selection. Producer Jesse Collins later said Jay-Z makes the annual headliner decision, but the NFL has not publicly described unilateral control.
The important distinction is between the NFL’s formal partnership language and the practical authority described by the show’s executive producer. Roc Nation is officially an adviser and production partner; Jay-Z is publicly reported to have the decisive voice on the headliner, while the complete approval process remains private.
Key takeaways
- On August 13, 2019, the NFL announced a multiyear partnership making Roc Nation its live-music entertainment strategist and an adviser on artists for major NFL performances, including the Super Bowl.
- The NFL’s formal language describes Roc Nation as an adviser, not as an organisation with publicly documented unilateral control over the booking.
- Super Bowl executive producer Jesse Collins publicly said, “It’s a decision that Jay makes,” describing Jay-Z as the person who decides the annual headliner.
- Roc Nation’s role extends beyond recommending a performer: Roc Nation has repeatedly participated in producing the televised halftime show.
- Apple Music is the halftime show’s presenting partner and supports the performance with playlists, interviews, catalog promotion, and post-show listening content.
- According to the NFL’s 2025 report, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance reached 133.5 million viewers, showing why the headliner is a major league-wide cultural decision.
What did the 2019 NFL-Roc Nation partnership actually change?
The 2019 partnership gave Roc Nation a formal role in shaping the NFL’s music strategy, live-game entertainment, and artist selection. In its August 13, 2019 announcement, the NFL said Roc Nation would advise on selecting artists for major NFL performances such as the Super Bowl.
The agreement had two connected purposes. The first was entertainment: Roc Nation would help the NFL improve artist selection, live-game presentation, and music-related content. The second was social impact: the partnership was meant to connect the NFL’s entertainment platform with Inspire Change.
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Inspire Change’s stated priorities included education and economic advancement, police and community relations, and criminal-justice reform. The NFL therefore presented Roc Nation as more than a booking consultant. The company was positioned as a cultural adviser and production partner that could help the league make music part of its broader public identity.
Jay-Z described that wider purpose in the NFL announcement: Roc Nation has shown that entertainment and enacting change are not mutually exclusive ideas — instead, we unify them.
The statement, quoted in the NFL’s partnership announcement, explains why the deal was framed as both an entertainment arrangement and an Inspire Change initiative.
Does Jay-Z really pick the Super Bowl halftime performer?
The most accurate answer is that Roc Nation has a formal advisory role, while Jesse Collins has publicly described Jay-Z as the person who makes the annual headliner decision. Those two statements are compatible, but they do not prove that Jay-Z has an absolute veto or signs every part of the booking agreement.
The NFL’s official wording is cautious: the league says Roc Nation advises on the selection of artists for major NFL performances. The official announcement does not say that Jay-Z personally owns the decision, has unilateral veto power, or controls the entire contract.
The clearest public statement about practical authority came from Jesse Collins, an executive producer discussing Kendrick Lamar’s selection for Super Bowl LIX. Collins told Billboard Canada, It’s a decision that Jay makes.
Collins also said Jay-Z had made the decision every year since Collins joined the show.
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That is strong evidence that Jay-Z has substantial influence over the annual headliner. It is still industry reporting about the practical process, rather than a published contract or NFL rule granting Jay-Z total control. Saying that Jay-Z or Roc Nation is involved in choosing the performer is supported. Saying that the NFL has no say is not supported by the public record.
| Question | What the public record supports |
|---|---|
| What is Roc Nation’s formal role? | Roc Nation advises the NFL on entertainment strategy and artist selection for major performances. |
| What is Jay-Z’s reported practical role? | Jesse Collins said Jay-Z makes the annual headliner decision. |
| Does Jay-Z have a documented unilateral veto? | No cited public source establishes an absolute veto or complete control of the booking contract. |
| Is the NFL involved? | Yes. The NFL presents the Super Bowl, announced the partnership, and remains the league-side authority for its event and broadcast. |
Why was Roc Nation brought into the NFL halftime show?
The NFL brought in Roc Nation because the league needed a repeatable cultural and entertainment strategy for one of television’s most visible live events. The NFL needed more than a famous performer; it needed artist relationships, production expertise, cultural credibility, and a way to connect entertainment with the league’s stated social-impact goals.
Jay-Z and Roc Nation offered several advantages:
- Music-industry relationships: Roc Nation works within the artist and management ecosystem that supplies major live performances.
- Artist credibility: Jay-Z brought a perspective on music and culture that could help the NFL pursue performers with relevance beyond a conventional corporate booking.
- Large-scale production capability: Roc Nation could advise on how a performance should be built for a massive live audience and a tightly controlled television broadcast.
- Cultural strategy: Jay-Z’s involvement gave the NFL a bridge between entertainment programming, representation, and the cultural conversations surrounding its biggest event.
- Social-impact alignment: The partnership connected the halftime platform with Inspire Change rather than treating the show as an isolated concert.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Jay-Z’s perspective would help shape how the league approached entertainment and what the NFL should try to achieve. The commissioner’s comments appear in the NFL’s announcement of the Roc Nation partnership.
What does Roc Nation do besides recommend a performer?
Roc Nation also helps produce and shape the televised performance, so its influence can extend to collaborators, creative framing, staging, and the way the show is presented to viewers.
For Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance on February 12, 2023, the NFL identified Roc Nation as the strategic entertainment adviser. The NFL’s announcement also said the telecast would be produced by DPS, with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as executive producers.
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For Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII performance on February 11, 2024, Roc Nation and Jesse Collins served as co-executive producers, according to Associated Press reporting. The role therefore continued after the 2023 show rather than ending with Rihanna’s appearance.
The NFL’s official halftime-show page identifies the same broader partnership around later performances. Kendrick Lamar performed at Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025, in a collaboration announced by the NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music. Bad Bunny was identified for Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as co-executive producers and Hamish Hamilton directing.
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| Super Bowl | Headliner | Documented Roc Nation involvement |
|---|---|---|
| LVII — February 12, 2023 | Rihanna | Strategic entertainment adviser; Roc Nation and Jesse Collins executive producers. |
| LVIII — February 11, 2024 | Usher | Roc Nation and Jesse Collins co-executive producers. |
| LIX — February 9, 2025 | Kendrick Lamar | NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music collaboration around the halftime show. |
| LX — February 8, 2026 | Bad Bunny | Roc Nation and Jesse Collins co-executive producers; Hamish Hamilton director. |
The recurring producer credits matter because a headliner decision is only one part of a halftime show. Roc Nation can influence the larger entertainment package: which artist leads the show, which guests or collaborators appear, how the performance is framed culturally, and how the concept is translated into television.
Who has the final say: the NFL, Jay-Z, or Apple Music?
No public source supports a simple answer that one party controls every decision. The clearest division is that the NFL owns the league event and broadcast context, Roc Nation supplies music strategy and production involvement, and Apple Music presents the halftime partnership and builds surrounding music content.
| Power center | Institutional role | Selection role in the public record | Production or audience role |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | Presents the Super Bowl and the league event. | The NFL formally partnered with Roc Nation and describes Roc Nation as an adviser on artist selection; the league’s public language does not identify a single unilateral selector. | Integrates the halftime performance into the official Super Bowl broadcast and league presentation. |
| Roc Nation and Jay-Z | Serve as the NFL’s music-strategy and entertainment partner. | Roc Nation has the formal advisory role; Jesse Collins publicly said Jay-Z makes the annual headliner decision. | Participate in strategic advising, executive production, artist relationships, and the creative presentation of the show. |
| Apple Music | Serves as the halftime show’s presenting partner beginning with Super Bowl LVII. | No cited public source identifies Apple Music as the final selector of the headliner. | Promotes the performer and performance through playlists, interviews, catalog programming, and post-show listening experiences. |
Apple Music’s role is therefore substantial but different from Jay-Z’s reported selection role. Apple Music became the presenting partner beginning with Super Bowl LVII, and Apple Music’s Road to Halftime programming included performer-focused playlists, interviews, catalog promotion, and post-show listening experiences.
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How does Apple Music fit into the halftime-show ecosystem?
Apple Music surrounds the live broadcast with a streaming and discovery layer rather than being publicly identified as the person or company that chooses the headliner. The arrangement gives Apple Music a way to turn one televised performance into playlists, interviews, artist discovery, and continued listening.
The three-way arrangement can be summarized simply:
- The NFL presents the Super Bowl and supplies the league event, broadcast platform, and official event framework.
- Roc Nation and Jay-Z advise on music strategy, participate in artist selection, and help produce the entertainment.
- Apple Music presents the halftime-show partnership and promotes the artist and performance through streaming-oriented content.
Apple Music’s promotional role also explains why the halftime show is treated as more than a twelve-to-fifteen-minute television segment. The performer becomes the centre of an ecosystem involving the live broadcast, interviews, playlists, catalog listening, and post-show attention.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do the recent performers show about Roc Nation’s influence?
The recent sequence of performers shows a continuing Roc Nation production relationship, but the sequence alone does not reveal every step of the private selection process. Rihanna, Usher, Kendrick Lamar, and Bad Bunny demonstrate that Roc Nation’s involvement has continued across multiple Super Bowl cycles and different musical identities.
According to the NFL’s 2025 report, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance reached 133.5 million viewers. A performance with that reach can shape the league’s cultural image, the artist’s public moment, Apple Music’s promotional programming, and the NFL’s relationship with viewers far beyond the stadium.
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That scale helps explain why the NFL would want a trusted entertainment strategist involved in the headliner decision. It also explains why Roc Nation’s role is not limited to finding an artist who can sing popular songs: the selection has to work for live television, the league’s brand, the performer’s audience, the production team, and the social context surrounding the Super Bowl.
What remains unknown about the selection process?
The cited public record does not disclose the complete internal approval process, so several important details should not be presented as settled fact.
- The sources do not establish whether Jay-Z has an absolute unilateral veto.
- The sources do not explain how final approval is divided among the NFL, Roc Nation, Apple Music, the host city, and production executives.
- The financial terms of the current NFL-Roc Nation partnership are not disclosed in the cited sources.
- The public record does not say whether every candidate originates with Roc Nation, the NFL, an artist’s team, or a joint process.
- The public record does not establish whether host-city preferences are binding.
- The sources do not show that the NFL has surrendered its authority over the Super Bowl event or that Apple Music selects the performer.
Those gaps make the distinction between formal authority and practical influence essential. The NFL officially describes Roc Nation as an adviser, while Jesse Collins’ public account identifies Jay-Z as the person who makes the annual headliner decision. The evidence supports significant Jay-Z influence without proving that every party’s approval is irrelevant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jay-Z have unilateral control over the Super Bowl halftime performer?
No public source establishes that Jay-Z has an absolute unilateral veto over the Super Bowl halftime performer. The NFL formally describes Roc Nation as an adviser, while producer Jesse Collins has publicly said that Jay-Z makes the annual headliner decision.
What does Roc Nation do for the Super Bowl halftime show?
Roc Nation advises the NFL on music strategy and artist selection, helps shape the live entertainment, and participates in producing the televised halftime show. The partnership also connected NFL entertainment with the Inspire Change social-impact initiative.
Is the NFL or Jay-Z in charge of the halftime show?
The NFL is the league and event authority, but Jesse Collins has described Jay-Z as the practical decision-maker for the annual headliner. The public record does not show that either Jay-Z or the NFL alone controls every approval, contract, and production decision.
What role does Apple Music play in the Super Bowl halftime show?
Apple Music is the presenting partner for the halftime show and supports the performance with playlists, interviews, catalog promotion, and post-show listening content. No cited source identifies Apple Music as the final selector of the headliner.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Roc Nation is behind the Super Bowl halftime performer selection because the NFL made the company its live-music entertainment strategist in 2019. The NFL formally describes Roc Nation as an adviser, while producer Jesse Collins says Jay-Z makes the annual headliner decision. Roc Nation also helps produce the show, and Apple Music handles the presenting-partner and streaming-content role.
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