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| Destiny's Child doing the halftime bounce |
As America's number one pastime, and still growing in popularity, the NFL rules the USA sports market big time.
How big?
So big that not only can they demand and receive $4 million for a 30 second Super Bowl commercial and a whopping $8 million for a 60 second one: They are now so large and in charge -- according to reports -- they are asking pop music superstars would they pay for the privilege of playing the halftime show.
Yea, that's some fly gangster ish. But hey let's do the math from the NFL's perspective:
To be fair, though, the unpaid acts don't get a raw deal. Though they might not see a penny from the actual halftime performance, they tend to make up for it in spades immediately afterward thanks to a major sales boost; for instance, Beyonce and Destiny's Child album sales rocketed up by 40 percent the week following the 2013 Super Bowl.
Indeed, playing the show usually generates heaps of income for performers via exposure alone. It can reinvigorate stagnating careers (see Madonna's 2012 performance, which drew 112.5 million viewers) and get people buzzing about semi-lower-profile acts like February's Bruno Mars, who played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and earned 115.3 million viewers—that's more eyeballs than on the game itself. Plus, there's the glory factor: The halftime show is one of the most coveted gigs on the planet, on the biggest professional stage most artists could ever conceive of playing. source
Apparently, to the NFL number crunchers, the NFL 1/2 hour halftime show is one long commercial for the artist and they (NFL) should collect their fees for providing a career boosting platform.
Can you see the day when players, with their plethora of cross-promotions and brand building opportunities (remember Tiger, Magic, Michael, Peyton et al all made vastly more $$$'s from endorsements than on field contracts) will be asked to cut the NFL a check?
Soccer anyone?
The NFL Players' Union is far too strong to ever allow for any players having to cut checks. Part of the reason the NFL has grown is that it's no longer a helmet league. Mannings, Wilson, Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Kaepernick, Newton, Luck, Cutler, Big Ben, RG3, Rivers, and now Manziel, Bortles, Bridgewater -- and these are just quarterbacks who are widely known, loved (or at least polarizing), have endorsements, and who have actual power (maybe not so much yet with the rookies, but look at Wilson's class already).
ReplyDeleteThis is something that's extending to position players and even damn people on the bench. Add in stories like Michael Sam, people are fixated on the players.
Unfortunately, all subsequent costs will be passed on to fans. Not only through ticket and food prices, but also through the costs of cable packages.
As to performers paying to play, I just hope should that arise, the performers actually pony up the money rather than having their labels do it. The performers may end up losing money, which is just stupid. But, truthfully, I don't really care. They never tried to get the Jason Bonham incarnation of Zeppelin to perform, but got the Stones and other old-ass bands, so Super Bowl halftime can suck it! (It did give us that Beyonce meme last year though!)