Taylor Swift has finally cleared the air about why she won’t be headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show — and it has nothing to do with performance footage rights.
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday night, Swift’s on-air conversation was playful and light, with topics ranging from music to, surprisingly, bread. But in an extended version of the interview posted on the show’s website and social media, she addressed the swirling rumors surrounding the NFL’s biggest stage.
During one of Fallon’s signature rumor games, he asked Swift whether it was true she had declined the halftime gig because she wouldn’t own the performance footage. On the televised segment, she simply made a face. But in the longer version, she gave a definitive answer: “No,” she said flatly, denying that rights were the issue.
Swift went on to explain that Roc Nation — the Jay-Z–led company that oversees the halftime show — never made her a formal offer. Instead, her team only received vague, informal inquiries. “Jay-Z has always been very good to me — our teams are really close,” Swift said. “They sometimes will call and say, ‘How does she feel about…’ [she trails off]. And that’s not, like, an official offer or a conference-room conversation, more ‘How does she feel about it in general?’”
Even if the offer had been official, Swift admitted that performing during the Super Bowl simply isn’t on her radar right now — mostly because of her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. “I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field,” she said. “Professional football is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous. I am, for the whole season, locked in on what that man is doing on the field.”
She then playfully imagined trying to plan choreography while Kelce played in a high-stakes game. “Can you imagine if he’s out there every single week, putting his life on the line, doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure sport, and I’m like [she puts on a ditzy voice], ‘I wonder what my choreo should be? I think we should do two verses of “Shake It Off,” into “Blank Space,” into “Cruel Summer,” that would be great!’” she joked.
Swift emphasized that her decision wasn’t because Kelce would oppose it. “This has nothing to do with Travis — he would love for me to do it. But I’m just too locked in,” she said with a laugh.
For now, fans will have to keep waiting for the day Taylor Swift headlines the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The NFL has already confirmed that Bad Bunny will take the stage in 2026.