As it has grown and grown and grown some more, the NFL has continued to find more and more and more revenue streams.
The latest could be the Super Bowl halftime show. Currently a gig the performer plays for free in order to turn a gigantic international platform into the high profile and profits that go with it, the league now wants a cut.
According to the Wall Street Journal (via SportsBusiness Daily), the NFL has asked the three artists under consideration for the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show to “contribute a portion of their post-Super Bowl tour income” to the NFL, or to “make some other type of financial contribution.” Per the report, the idea received a “chilly reception” from the representatives of Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Coldplay.
Regardless, it only takes one performer to bite the hook in order for the NFL to parlay the halftime show into even more of a moneymaker. And it’s entirely possible that the league leaked the development in order to pressure one of the three to blink, given that plenty of other performers who would gladly give up a piece of a pie they otherwise don’t have will now be calling the league to offer whatever the league wants for the privilege of playing to one of the biggest audiences in TV history.