Last week it was rumored Jay-Z, by the power vested in him as president of Roc Nation, had found the mega-selling headliner to play the Super Bowl 61 halftime show.
The performer? None other than Jay-Z.
It seemed like a poorly written internet joke. A dose of insider trading on par with "we've investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing." After all, Jay-Z hadn't released an album in nearly a decade -- 2017's 4:44, which went double platinum.
In the years since he's been known more as an entrepreneur than a recording artist. He'd been surpassed in the zeitgeist by wife Beyonce. He's 56 years old.
But the NFL loves to sprinkle in a nostalgia act at the big game every few years. So, five years after Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent took midfield
in Los Angeles, Hova is set to play the Super Bowl.
For real.
GOAT’s out of the bag. @sc #AppleMusicHalftime #SBLXI pic.twitter.com/GrIurjDM9L
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2026
The good news is he has a wide library to choose from. Would the league be cool with Big Pimpin? 99 Problems? Can I Get A? Any of his now-problematic collaborations with Kanye West? Fortunately, he can still pull out a six-song medley of less objectionable content that still slaps, which brings us to the logical follow-up.
Will Beyonce join Jay-Z at Super Bowl 61?
Sure, Crazy in Love would be great, but Bonnie n' Clyde '03 is a banger as well. We could also get Run This Town with another former Super Bowl performer in Rihanna or Numb/Encore with a reformulated Linkin Park following Chester Bennington's passing.
Jay-Z selecting himself might make for easy jokes, but he's got the resume to justify the choice.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jay-Z's Super Bowl 61 halftime show will make memes come true
