Why Taylor Swift Has Never Performed at the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl Halftime Show has seen performances from legendary musicians. Prince, Beyoncé, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Rihanna are just some past performers who have expansive catalogs of undeniable hits that can come together for a strong 13-minute medley. The question of who will perform in the Super Bowl is almost as important as which two football teams will face off in the annual game.

This year, Taylor Swift has become a big part of the conversation surrounding the Super Bowl—not because she will perform during the halftime show (Usher will!) but because her boyfriend Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, will play in the game against the San Francisco 49ers.

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While a performance from Swift during Kelce’s game would be undoubtedly sweet, it’s unlikely that the pop star will take the Super Bowl halftime stage anytime soon. For years, Swift has allegedly declined the slot due to having inked a “long-term partnership” with Coca-Cola, the rival brand to the Super Bowl Halftime sponsor, Pepsi. When Apple Music took over as the official sponsor in 2022, there were rumors that she was offered the gig. TMZ confirmed that she was offered but declined it because she was working on her album re-records at the time.

What could also be preventing Swift is her busy schedule. She released her Oct. 2022 album, Midnights, which recently won two Grammy awards, including a historic fourth Album of the Year award for Swift, and is re-recording her first six albums—four of which have been released: Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). She still has Reputation (Taylor’s Version) and Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) to release. She also just announced that she will release a brand new album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19.

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In March 2023, the singer embarked on the wildly successful Eras Tour—which concluded its first leg in Nov. 2023. Swift got some time off for the holidays, and the tour recently picked back up for a four-day stretch in Tokyo. It’s unclear if and when she’ll do the Super Bowl, but she certainly has a plethora of hit songs to choose from. Given that she has her Eras Tour, her re-recorded albums, and a new album coming out, a Swiftie Super Bowl might not be in the cards soon, though.

Correction, Feb. 10

The original version of this story misstated that Taylor Swift still has “Lover (Taylor’s Version)” to release. It’s “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)” that is awaiting its release.