The Super Bowl LX Halftime Show—aka the Benito Bowl—was the real event.
The game itself went about how the moneyline predicted, with the Seahawks handling the Patriots. But the halftime show? That was history.
For Bad Bunny fans—and especially for Latin audiences—it was a landmark night. Fresh off a dominant Grammys weekend where he took home three awards, including Album of the Year for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (the first Spanish-language project ever to win the honor), Benito stepped onto the biggest stage in American entertainment.
One of the night’s most talked-about moments came when Bad Bunny handed his Grammy to “little Benito,” played by child actor Lincoln Fox. Many people mistook Lincoln for Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old who was detained by ICE last month, and although there’s a noticeable similarity that wasn’t the intention. According to Fox, the gesture symbolized Bad Bunny passing the dream back to his younger self—a reminder to dream big.
Bad Bunny didn’t just make history culturally—he broke records. His halftime show drew 135 million viewers, surpassing Kendrick Lamar’s previous record of 133.5M. Despite critics calling a Spanish-language halftime show “un-American,” the numbers made one thing clear: the audience showed up.
That brings us to the question people ask every year.
How Much Did Bad Bunny Get Paid For The Super Bowl?
The short answer: not much.
Like every Super Bowl halftime headliner before him, Bad Bunny wasn’t paid a massive performance fee. The NFL covers production costs, but artists themselves are paid union scale, roughly $1,000 per day. For megastars like Bad Bunny, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, or The Weeknd, that’s basically pocket change.
The real money goes into the production. According to reports, one set element alone—the Sugarcane bushes featured in the performance—cost the NFL almost $500,000, with roughly 380 performers paid about $1,300 each. And that’s just one piece of the show.
Although it’s nice to have the NFL foot the bill for possibly the most expensive 13-minute performance of an artist’s career, if Bad Bunny only walked away with about $8-$9K for rehearsals and game day, why do it?
The Real Bag: Exposure
The Super Bowl isn’t about the check—it’s about reach.
Bad Bunny performed in front of 135 million viewers, not counting the post-show explosion across social media, YouTube, and streaming platforms. According to Spotify, U.S. streams of Bad Bunny jumped 470% between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. ET immediately after the game.
Here’s how some of his songs from the Super Bowl halftime show setlist surged:
- “Yo Perreo Sola” +2,170%
- “El Apagón” +1,320%
- “Party” +1,130%
- “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii ” +1,040%
- “Tití Me Preguntó” +1,000%
- “Safaera” +1,000%
- “DtMF” +845%
- “MONACO” +810%
- “CAFé CON RON” +790%
- “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR” +780%
- “NUEVAYoL” +780%
- “LA MuDANZA” +750%
- “EoO” +660%
- “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” +550%
This is the Super Bowl effect. In 2024, Usher saw a 550% streaming boost, while Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” jumped 430% after his halftime show. In 2023, Rihanna famously used her performance to promote Fenty Beauty—applying powder on stage—which generated $5.6M in earned media value, according to Launchmetrics.
So while Bad Bunny didn’t walk away with a massive paycheck, he did something far bigger:
he put his music, his culture, and his country on the most powerful advertising stage in America.
And the returns? He’ll be collecting those for a long time.
