U2 will headline halftime of the NFL's first Thanksgiving Eve game, Packers vs. Rams at SoFi Stadium on Wednesday, November 25, streaming live on Netflix, Netflix announced on October 20 in a release posted on NFL.com. The same day, Puck reported, citing multiple sources, that Jay-Z has picked himself for the Super Bowl LXI halftime show. Neither the NFL nor Roc Nation has confirmed it.
Two halftime stories landed on the same Tuesday, and only one of them is official. Kickoff on Thanksgiving Eve is 8 p.m. ET. The Super Bowl comes back to the same Inglewood stadium on February 14, 2027.
What did Netflix and the NFL actually announce?
The announcement, published on NFL.com, says the set arrives as U2 marks 50 years since forming in Dublin in 1976, and it frames the night as a return: U2 played the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show in February 2002, a Rams game, and this one is a Rams home game nearly a quarter century later. Jesse Collins Entertainment is producing it. No set list or guests were named.
There's a reason U2 has headlined stadiums for decades: they don't just perform, they deliver iconic moments audiences remember forever.Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, in the NFL.com announcement
The show lands between two U2 dates already on the calendar: a new album, Carnaval De Luz, due November 13, per Consequence, and the band's 2027 stadium run, which we covered when The Greatest Show on Earth tour opened its Mexico City presale.
How did holiday games become stage slots?
This is Netflix's third holiday halftime in three seasons, and the pattern is now plain enough to put in a table.
| Game | Matchup | Halftime | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas 2024 | Ravens vs. Texans (Netflix) | Beyoncé | Played |
| Christmas 2025 | Lions vs. Vikings (Netflix) | Snoop Dogg | Played |
| Nov 25, 2026 | Packers vs. Rams (Netflix) | U2 | Announced |
| Feb 14, 2027 | Super Bowl LXI, SoFi Stadium | Jay-Z (per Puck) | Reported, not confirmed |
The league's announcement says Netflix's Lions vs. Vikings broadcast last Christmas was the most streamed NFL regular season game in U.S. history. A halftime headliner is how a streamer turns a regular season game into an event that non-football households open the app for, and it is the same bet streamers keep making on live music, from Amazon carrying Warped Tour to Spotify testing concert streams.
Three holiday halftimes in three seasons: the regular season now has a stage.
Is Jay-Z really headlining the Super Bowl?
Only reportedly. Puck's Dave Brooks reported, citing multiple sources, that Jay-Z selected himself for the February show after Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber were considered, according to theGrio's account of the report. Representatives for the NFL and Roc Nation did not respond to Puck, and KTLA said neither had made an announcement as of October 20.
The reason “picks himself” is the headline everyone reached for: Roc Nation, the company Jay-Z founded, has curated and produced the halftime show under an NFL partnership since 2019, renewed in 2024 for five more years, per KTLA. Barrett Media put it bluntly: he is “also the man responsible for choosing the performer.” Jesse Collins, whose company also works on the Super Bowl show, told Variety in 2024, as quoted by XXL, “It's a decision that Jay makes.”
Jay-Z has teased this before. Asked by Entertainment Tonight in January 2024 whether he would ever take the slot, he left it at “Maybe one year.” He plays two JAY-Z30 shows at SoFi Stadium on October 23 and 24, and Barrett Media reported a formal announcement could come there. Until the NFL or Roc Nation says so, U2's November night is the only halftime on the books.