Super Bowl goals: Jay-Z's halftime hints - ESPN

«I said no to the Super Bowl: You need me, I don't need you. Every night we in the end zone, tell the NFL we in stadiums too.» — Jay-Z, «Apes---»

The man who famously rapped about turning down the Super Bowl in 2018 has changed his tune.

Jay-Z is headed to SoFi Stadium to headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show, putting one of hip-hop's deepest catalogs on football's biggest stage. Apparently, «I don't need you» left a little room for «see you in Inglewood.»

Hov is already well acquainted with the operation. Roc Nation, the entertainment company he founded in 2008, has partnered with the NFL since August 2019 as the league's «live music entertainment strategist.» He has helped shape the halftime spectacle from behind the scenes, beginning with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's performance at Super Bowl LIV in 2020.

Now, after a run of headliners including Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny, the businessman (read as: business, man) helping put the show together is putting himself on the bill. From the boardroom to the halftime stage, consider it a promotion.

Jay taking his talents to midfield might surprise anyone still holding him to those «Apes---» bars. But saying no isn't the same as saying never, and a closer look suggests this moment didn't come entirely out of nowhere.

Has Hov been telling us all along? Here are the hints that hit a little differently now.

Jay-Z got a few stadium reps alongside his wife, Beyoncé, with his three surprise appearances on her Cowboy Carter Tour in 2025, popping up in Paris, Atlanta and Las Vegas.

His June 22 appearance at the Atlanta Falcons' Mercedes-Benz Stadium marked the couple's first live performance together in seven years, with the 2003 hit «Crazy in Love» among the songs on the set