The National Football League reportedly “refused” to give in to Taylor Swift’s one big demand for the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Swift, 35, has been linked to the Super Bowl 60 Halftime Show for a while now. Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, is the biggest pop star in the world. There is no bigger performance than the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which attracts more than 100 million viewers around the country. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked by the “Today” show earlier this year if Swift could be the performer.
“We would always love to have Taylor play. She is a special, special talent, and obviously she would be welcome at any time,” Goodell said, when asked if Swift has been invited to play.
“Is it in the works?” Savannah Guthrie asked.
“I can’t tell you anything about it,” Goodell replied.
“Is it a maybe?” Guthrie followed up.
“It’s a maybe,” he hedged.
Swift won’t be performing, per report
According to a report from Rob Shuter’s Substack, Swift had interest in performing the Super Bowl 60 Halftime Show, though she had one major demand for the National Football League.
Swift wanted “to retain ownership of her performance and secure slots promoting her own projects,” according to the report.
The NFL “flatly refused.”
The league, which has arguably the biggest platform in the world, didn’t need to give in to Swift’s demands. Swift, meanwhile, didn’t need to take the league up on their offer, either. It’s a situation where neither party really needs the other one.
“They expect the biggest artists in the world to do it for ‘exposure,’” a source said. “Taylor Swift doesn’t need exposure.”
Another wrote, “She wanted a deal that reflected her value. Without that, she wasn’t going to move forward.”
Perhaps we’ll get Taylor Swift in the Super Bowl Halftime Show one day, but not this year.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.