With NFL gamers pulling in an average income of $2.7 million per year, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the musical superstars who provide their skills to the most crucial videogame of the year likewise make millions of dollars—but you’d be incorrect. Usher is this year’s halftime entertainer, and he won’t be taking home anything near an NFL wage for the huge performance.
The unexpected fact is that halftime entertainers aren’t paid to carryout at the Super Bowl. Per league policy, the NFL covers all expenses associated to the production of the halftime program, however the skill doesn’t take home a income (although the NFL foots the expense for their travel expenditures). According to Forbes, artists are paid simply $1,000 a day on a minimum wage union scale. Still, “the halftime program at the Super Bowl stays a extremely yearnedfor area for numerous artists,” homeentertainment lawyer Lori Landew informed Forbes back in 2019. “Some of those artists do not see their look as a political declaration, nor do they see the program as a cultural battlefield, however rather view their live efficiency as an chance to amuse an passionate crowd and to share their music and their skill with millions of audiences.”
The expense of production, even for simply a thirteen-minute section, can likewise be sky-high. The 2020 efficiency by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira supposedly expense the NFL roughly $13 million. That figure financialresources the incomes of up to 3,000 staffers included in the production, as well as madecomplex technical aspects of the efficiency, like a retractable, 38-part phase, or the enormous audio devices rolled in on 18 carts. Don’t even get us began on the expense of amazing eyeglasses, like Katy Perry riding into the arena on a mechanical golden lion, or Lady Gaga parachuting into her efficiency from the roofing.
So what’s in it for entertainers? Something familiar to freelance authors allover: directexposure. Performing on one of the world’s greatest, most telecasted phases can transform into genuine monetary gain in the kind of increased music sales. When Justin Timberlake carriedout in 2018, his music sales increased 534% that verysame day; as for Lady Gaga, sales of her digital brochure surged 1000% following her 2017 efficiency. For Usher, the vocalist will have the chance to promote his brand-new album, Coming Home—which will be launched 2 days before the Super Bowl. He is likewise embarking on a acrossthecountry trip beginning in August 2024.
And lest you believe the headliners are the just entertainers working for totallyfree—surely journeyman dancers ought to be paid, best?—think onceagain. The NFL hasactually come under fire for stoppingworking to pay some halftime program dancers, framing them rather as “volunteers.” During The Weeknd’s 2021 halftime program, all dancers hurried the field in the exactsame outfits, however not everybody got the verysame treatment. According to an examination by the Los Angeles Times, “paid dancers gotten $712 for program day and $45 per hour for their practicesession time, as well as a $30 per di