In the glittering world of pop music and American football, one collaboration has long eluded fans: Taylor Swift headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. Despite her status as the world's biggest pop star and her high-profile romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Swift has yet to take the stage during the NFL's marquee event. The latest buzz around Super Bowl LX in 2026, set for Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, had Swifties convinced it was her moment, especially with her playful mentions of sourdough bread—a nod to the region's culinary fame. But those hopes were dashed when Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner for the game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.
Swift's absence from the halftime roster has sparked endless speculation over the years, predating her relationship with Kelce, which began in 2023. According to a recent article on E! Online, the singer addressed the topic directly during her October 6 appearance on The Tonight Show. "Here's the thing, Jay-Z has always been very good to me," Swift said, referring to the rapper whose Roc Nation company partnered with the NFL in 2019 to produce the halftime shows. She explained that informal discussions sometimes arise, with Roc Nation representatives asking, "How does she feel about the Super Bowl?" But these are not formal offers, just casual check-ins given the close relationship between her team and the production company.
Now deeply invested in Kelce's career, Swift cited her emotional stake in the game as a major deterrent. "We're always able to tell him the truth, which is that I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that field," she told host Jimmy Fallon. "That is violent chess, that is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous. I am, the whole season, I am locked in on what that man is doing on the field." The idea of focusing on choreography and setlists amid the high-stakes anxiety of watching her fiancé play seems untenable to her. "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,'" she added.
Logistics have also played a role in past missed opportunities. For Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Swift was in the midst of her record-breaking Eras Tour, which grossed over $1 billion and spanned more than 150 shows worldwide. She managed to fly from Tokyo—after four consecutive nights of performances—to attend the game where the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22, securing Kelce's third ring. However, staging a full halftime show, which typically lasts 13 minutes, would have been logistically impossible amid her tour schedule. Speculation persisted until the last minute that she might make a surprise appearance with headliner Usher, who was announced in September 2023 and benefited from his ongoing Vegas residency through December of that year.
Super Bowl LIX in 2025, held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, presented another awkward timing issue. The Chiefs lost decisively to the Philadelphia Eagles 38-14 in that matchup, and having Swift perform during a game where her partner's team was routed might have dampened the excitement. Usher's performance drew widespread acclaim, featuring guest appearances by Alicia Keys, will.i.am, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and H.E.R., but Swift's name lingered in the conversation as her NFL visibility grew.
Beyond personal and scheduling reasons, historical factors have kept Swift off the halftime stage. In the 15 years since her 2008 album Fearless topped the Billboard 200, Swift's public image evolved dramatically. Early hits like "You Belong With Me" appealed to a broad audience, but her breakthrough as a stadium-filling powerhouse came with 2014's 1989, featuring anthems such as "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Bad Blood." Before that, she was more associated with country-pop than the high-energy pop spectacles suited to the Super Bowl format.
A significant barrier emerged in 2013 when Swift signed a lucrative long-term endorsement deal with Diet Coke, a product of the Coca-Cola Company. A Coca-Cola executive described her as "an extraordinary individual and a wonderful symbol of achievement." At the time, Pepsi had just resumed sponsorship of the halftime show, headlined that year by Beyoncé at the Superdome in New Orleans. Swift remained a Diet Coke ambassador until 2018, creating a clear conflict of interest. Pepsi continued as sponsor through 2022, after which Apple Music took over.
Swift's career hiatus from 2014 to 2017—no new albums during that period, breaking her biennial release pattern—further delayed her momentum. This era was marked by personal and professional turmoil, including a high-profile feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West over the 2016 song "Famous." "Make no mistake—my career was taken away from me," Swift later reflected, speaking from the vantage point of being named TIME's 2023 Person of the Year. She reemerged with a string of acclaimed albums: Lover (2019), folklore and evermore (2020), Midnights (2022), The Tortured Poets Department (2024, a 31-track double album), and her most recent, The Life of a Showgirl.
Apple Music reportedly asked Taylor if she'd do the honors at Super Bowl LVII in February 2023. Her fans presented a deranged very convincing argument for why it was finally going to happen, connecting every imagined dot. Taylor declined, however, purportedly because she was in the thick of rerecording the albums she made for Big Machine Records, her response to Scooter Braun acquiring the rights to her back catalogue when his company Ithaca Holdings bought the label in 2019.
TMZ reported in 2022, citing sources with direct knowledge, that Swift wanted to complete her re-recording project—covering her first six albums—before considering the Super Bowl. She has since finished four: Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), Speak Now (Taylor's Version), and 1989 (Taylor's Version). The remaining two are her 2006 self-titled debut and 2017's Reputation, which she has teased as "a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure." In May 2025, Swift bought back her master recordings from Shamrock Holdings, regaining full control after years of legal battles. As her own lead songwriter, she had always retained her publishing rights.
Despite these hurdles, the NFL and Roc Nation clearly see Swift as a dream headliner. The partnership, initiated in 2019 under Jay-Z's leadership, has delivered iconic shows, from Kendrick Lamar's symbolically charged 2022 performance at SoFi Stadium—complete with nods to racial and political divides and subtle jabs at rival Drake—to Rihanna's 2023 aerial entrance and pregnancy reveal at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Looking back, the Super Bowl halftime show has a rich history of star power. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira made history in 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami as the first Latinas to lead the performance, with Lopez sharing a poignant moment with her daughter Emme. Lady Gaga descended from the stadium roof in 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston, delivering hits like "Poker Face," "Born This Way," and "Bad Romance" amid pyrotechnics and costume changes. Katy Perry's 2015 show at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale drew the largest audience ever for the event, featuring "Roar," "Teenage Dream," and "Firework" with guests Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott.
Earlier spectacles include Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2014 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Beyoncé reuniting with Destiny's Child in 2013 at the Superdome; and Madonna's 2012 performance at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, nearly upstaged by M.I.A.'s controversial gesture during "Give Me All Your Luvin'," "Vogue," and "Like a Prayer." Rock legends like The Who in 2010 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and The Rolling Stones in 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit added classic edge, while U2's 2002 tribute to 9/11 victims at the Louisiana Superdome remains a poignant highlight.
Swift insists her hesitation has nothing to do with Kelce, who at 36 would "love for me to do it," she said on The Tonight Show. "I'm just too locked in." As the Chiefs aim for a potential three-peat, her focus remains on supporting him. But with Kelce's career possibly winding down after three Super Bowl victories, and Swift now owning her catalog outright, the stars could align for Super Bowl LXII on February 14, 2027.
Until then, fans can revisit past halftime gems or anticipate Bad Bunny's 2026 show. Swift's journey—from country ingenue to global icon—mirrors the evolving Super Bowl stage, which has grown from modest productions to cultural touchstones watched by over 100 million viewers annually. Whether she ever says yes remains an open question, but the invitation lingers.