NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show to Katy Perry, Rihanna and Coldplay: Show Me the Money!

Potential performers are being asked to offer a percentage of future tour earnings in exchange for the massive publicity they’d get

rihanna katy perry chris martin
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The National Football League apparently wants future Super Bowl halftime performers to pay to play.

A report in The Wall Street Journal says the NFL has asked Coldplay, Rihanna and Katy Perry if they’d be willing to offer a percentage of their future tour earnings or “some other type of financial contribution” to perform at the big game in February.

The theory is that the exposure is so great, that artists should pay for some of it.

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The league would neither confirm nor deny the allegations. “Our only goal with the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show is to put on the best show for the millions of fans who watch,” Joanna Hunter, the NFL’s director of corporate communications, told TheWrap. “Our contract arrangements with artists are confidential.”

The specific dollar amount or percentage was not specified, and the NFL “got a chilly reception from the candidates’ representatives,” the Journal wrote.

Katy PerryRihanna and Coldplay’s reps did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

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Typically, the football league doesn’t pay its halftime performers. But it does cover travel and production costs, which can carry a very hefty price tag. Super Bowl XLIX will kick off on Feb. 1, 2015 in Arizona.

Last year’s Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show — starring Bruno Mars and featuring The Red Hot Chili Peppers — pulled in a record 115.3 million viewers, more than the game itself.

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This year’s three reported candidates don’t need much help moving the box office needle. Per Pollstar, Katy Perry grossed more than $36 million in concert ticket sales between May and July, Rihanna grossed nearly $142 million in 2013, and Coldplay grossed $171 million in 2012, their last global tour.

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