Taylor Swift has explained why she would turn down performing at the NFL Super Bowl, following a series of rumors that she was offered the 2026 performance but turned it down.
There’s always a star at the Super Bowl
The NFL Super Bowl has been known to have a halftime show from different world famous artists over the years.
The game has seen performances from artists like Michael Jackson and Diana Ross as well as Paul McCartney, Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Rihanna in recent years.
Swift has never performed for the Super Bowl
The 14-time Grammy winner is one of the big names that we’ve yet to see perform at the Super Bowl.
In fact, there were rumors on why she might have turned down the widely-broadcasted February 2026 show.
Jimmy Fallon asked her about it
In a Monday, October 6, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Swift was asked whether the rumor that she had turned down performing the Super Bowl halftime show was true.
It had been accompanied with the claim that she turned it down because the NFL refused to give her ownership of the performance.
She explained her stance on it
Swift, who’s engaged to the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end, Travis Kelce, said, “Jay-Z has always been very good to me, our [business] teams are really close.”
She added that Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s company which coordinated Super Bowl acts, has reached out before.
They would call her team about it sometimes
“They sometimes will call and say, ‘How does she feel about… you know…’” Swift said, hinting at the Super Bowl. “But that’s not like an official offer or a conference-room conversation.”
Swift also denied the rumor that she had turned down the performance because of a dispute over performance footage.
She explained that she’s focused on Kelce
“I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field,” Swift said. “Like, [his sport] is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous.”
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“Throughout the whole season, I am locked in on what that man is doing on the field,” Swift added.
The singer wouldn’t want to steal his shine
Swift went on, “Can you imagine if he’s out there every single week, putting his life on the line, doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure, high-intensity sport, and I’m like, ‘I wonder what my choreo should be? I think we should do two verses of Shake It Off into Blank Space into Cruel Summer. Would be great!’”
Swift said turning it down isn’t related to Kelce
Despite this, Swift also insisted that her decision to not perform at the Super Bowl has ‘nothing to do with’ Kelce, adding that he would ‘love for me to do it.’
The singer concluded, “I’m just too locked in.”
