Every single time the NFL announces who’s playing the Super Bowl halftime show, Taylor Swift fans sigh with sadness.
Why hasn’t Taylor Swift performed at the Super Bowl halftime show? It feels like a no brainer, doesn’t it?
All of biggest female acts of the modern age have done it: Beyonce. Lady Gaga. Rihanna. Katy Perry.
Yet still, no Taylor!
Give the big year she and the NFL have shared in 2023, via Travis Kelce of course, many thought she would be the 2024 performer.
While we’re by no means sad to see Usher take the stage we’ve done some digging and have come up with receipts proof, timeline, screeenshots to explain why she hasn’t done the halftime show.
And why it still could happen in 2025, despite not being the headliner.
Taylor Swift At The Super Bowl With Travis Kelce & Friends
While she hasn’t performed at the Super Bowl yet, Taylor has been to the big game – in a big way!
She’s even been out on the field, if only to give her man a big kiss!
After much speculation over if she would make it due to her concerts in Tokyo, Taylor delighted fans and her BF Travis Kelce by being front and center for the 2024 game.
She clearly had a great time, chugging back drinks with her pals Blake Lively and Ice Spice, as well as cheering on her man in the show down.
In the end, Travis and the KC Chiefs were successful in winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
The night belonged to Mahomes and Hartman and coach Andy Reid, but it also belong to Traylor who, like them or not, brought a whole new audience together to love football.
In his victory speech, Travis announced they’d be going for a third win next year. So far, the team is doing pretty well this season. Taylor may even be acting as a good luck charm. She’s been to most of the games this season, partying with her parents – and Travis’ parents – in the family suite high above the stadium.
So, if the Chiefs do make it to the Super Bowl in 2025, it sounds like Taylor will be right at their side.
And there’s even a rumor she could be performing during the halftime show as a special guest!
Why Hasn’t Taylor Swift Played The Super Bowl Halftime Show Yet?
She’s the biggest name in music; she has a catalogue of songs that can’t be matched; and to be frank, the NFL loves Taylor Swift, so it seems bananas that she hasn’t been asked to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show yet.
Well, the truth of it its, Taylor has been asked already to perform. Many times, if reports are to be believed.
She’s just turned the offers down time and time again.
At first, it was a matter of alliances. The Super Bowl halftime show was sponsored by Pepsi for many years; Taylor is a Coca-Cola rep through and through.
But in 2020, the sponsorship was taken over by Apple Music, paving the way for acts like Rihanna and The Weeknd to take the stage.
Yet still no Taylor? Why?
Two words: Taylor’s Version.
Why Taylor’s Waiting To Perform The Halftime Show
The main reason for Taylor not performing at a Super Bowl show is that she’s still working on getting back the rights to all of her music.
She’s still in the process of re-recording her early albums after losing the rights to them to producer Scooter Braun.
After years of work, we’re finally down to the last two re-recordings: Reputation and Taylor Swift.
Many fans though an announcement for the former was coming at the start of 2024. Instead, Taylor announced she’s dropping a brand new album this spring.
Now, that doesn’t mean she can’t do both, and honestly, it’s what everyone is hoping for. She couldn’t do a halftime show justice if she couldn’t perform “Look What You Made Me Do” or “Teardrops On My Guitar”.
And you know she’s not letting anyone else get a red cent from her performance aside from her!
And let’s face it – Taylor is a mastermind.
So, until those albums are done, there will be no Taylor at the Super Bowl.
And yet…
Taylor Swift Could Still Perform at 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show
Swifties were half bummed, half stoked to hear that headlining the Super Bowl in 2025 would be Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick will be front and center on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome, no matter which two teams will end up facing off.
But he may not be alone out there. Consider what we’ve said thus far: Taylor has still not dropped her Reputation and Taylor Swift albums, so a standalone show would be out of the question if she has to pay others for the rights to perform her music.
HOWEVER, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) released on October 27, 2023. Do you remember what track is on that album?
Do you remember what track is on that album? That’s right, Bad Blood, featuring none other that Kendrick Lamar.
The two are pals and we could 100% see Kendrick calling in a favor and Taylor happily obliging.
Of course, he could call in a lot of favors for special guests through his collaborations; SZA, Drake, BEYONCE!
In short, this could finally be the year and Taylor doesn’t have to sacrifice her integrity – or her billionaire status – to do it.
The NFL’s Doing Their Part
Wild conspiracy theories aside, no one can deny what the Taylor Effect has done for the NFL this year.
Between viewership being up, merch flying off the shelves, and just general buzz being at an all-time high, it’s clear that this has been a good of a match as Taylor is with Travis.
So, could next year be in the works? Well, before the headliner was announced in September, their were reports that the NFL was doing all it could to persuade Taylor into performing.
According to a report from the New York Post, the NFL asked its networks during the season to air commercials for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie free of charge, in an attempt to secure her continued support.
“TV executives speculated that the NFL’s goal with Swift is the Super Bowl halftime show, which she has never done,” the Post reported.
Now, no one could confirm if the same deal was struck for the big game, with ads for her concert movie that dropped on Disney+ in March, but they did run.
With the Eras tour coming to an official end in December 2024, what a way to end her two years of touring than a guest spot at the Super Bowl!
