"Nobody Wants to See Jay-Z": Ex-NFL Star Slams Rapper’s Reported Super Bowl Halftime Plans

Ex-NFL star snubs Jay-Z for Super Bowl halftime show© X formally Twitter

The man who picks the Super Bowl halftime headliner may have picked himself. Jay-Z has controlled the NFL's biggest musical stage since 2019, yet he has never performed on it. Now a report says he will take the spotlight in Los Angeles. Former NFL wide receiver Houshmandzadeh heard the news and did not hold back. He says fans in the stadium and at home want a fresh face, not a familiar one. The debate is already loud, and the NFL has not said a word.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh slams the Jay-Z Super Bowl halftime plan

Puck's Dave Brooks reports that Jay-Z "picked" himself to headline Super Bowl LXI. Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus were only "considered." Houshmandzadeh called the choice a miss on his show.

“Nobody want to see Jay-Z perform at the Super Bowl. They don't,” Houshmandzadeh said on PREGAME: A Speakeasy Show. “They don't want to see Jay-Z perform. Like, why would he do this? Nobody want to see Jay-Z be the halftime performer. The Super Bowl ain't in New York. It's in LA. Figure it out. That's your job.”

He then laid out his own plan for the stage.

“Find somebody that's locally connected to this community and/or bring somebody. You're trying to grow the game internationally. Why don't you just have a collection of international performers do it then? … Seven minutes, three performers, 21 minutes. Let's go.”

He also questioned the star power. Fans have heard the hits, he argued, and only two albums, Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint, deserve repeat plays.

“You mean to tell me Jay-Z couldn't find nobody better than himself?” the former NFL wide receiver lashed out.

Why the Jay-Z halftime show may still work

Roc Nation has produced the halftime show for $5 million a year, and the NFL extended that deal for five more years in 2024. Jay-Z has stayed off the stage the whole time.

Timing gives him a decent defense. His Jay-Z 30 tour marks 30 years since Reasonable Doubt, and it is his first solo run in nine years. Crowds have shown up. Puck says three straight nights at Yankee Stadium in July grossed more than $42 million. Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams have joined the bill along the way. Two more dates at SoFi Stadium, the Super Bowl venue, are still ahead.

Houshmandzadeh would rather see a name with deep Los Angeles pull. His ideas were Drake and Taylor Swift. Either one would add a story. Kendrick Lamar took a shot at Drake during his own halftime set, and Swift, now married to Travis Kelce, has a Chiefs link that already fueled halftime rumors once.

For now, the NFL and Roc Nation have said nothing official. Until they do, the argument over who deserves that stage is wide open.