NFL Speaks Out On Bad Bunny's Grammys Political Move And What That Means For Super Bowl LX

The NFL has finally addressed widespread speculations about Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl performance. 

The rapper publicly spoke out against ICE during his acceptance speech at the 2026 Grammys, igniting a firestorm online that led fans to believe his Super Bowl performance might also be political. 

Ever since Bad Bunny was announced as the performer for this year’s halftime show, he has received criticism from all sides, including President Donald Trump, who publicly slammed the NFL for choosing him. 

During a press conference ahead of the Super Bowl, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked to speak on Bad Bunny’s upcoming performance and whether he expects the Latino rapper to take a political stance as he did at the Grammys. 

Goodell made it clear that Bad Bunny’s Grammys speech makes him a standout artist. He added that the rapper also understands the kind of platform the Super Bowl offers, and he expects him to put on a good halftime performance. 

“Bad Bunny, I think that was demonstrated last night, is one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” the NFL commissioner said, as confirmed by US Weekly.

“But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on. This platform is to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, and to be able to use this moment to do that," he explained. “I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”

Goodell’s statements came after Bad Bunny publicly took a stance against ICE on the Grammys stage after winning Album of the Year. 

The Blast reported that the Latino rapper began his acceptance speech by saying, “I’m gonna say, ICE out.”  We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we’re humans, and we are Americans.” 

This moving speech was met with negative reactions from MAGA supporters, who called for a Super Bowl boycott.

One fan wrote, “Bad Bunny will pull this sh-t at the Super Bowl too. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is: BOYCOTT THE SUPERBOWL,” and another argued that the rapper was going to make the Super Bowl “extremely political.” 

Despite the heavy criticism Bad Bunny received after being named a headliner, the show organizers made no move to remove him as a performer. Instead, they announced that Green Day, which has openly opposed Trump in the past, would open for the Latino rapper. 

This announcement was met with another round of skepticism. Fans online began to suggest that the NFL was indirectly taking a stance against Trump by intentionally choosing people who have opposed his administration to perform at the Super Bowl.

“NFL going anti-MAGA on Feb 8 and I love it,” one commenter wrote. Another dubbed it the “anti-MAGA halftime show,” per The Blast.

Before the NFL announced Green Day as the opening performers for the Super Bowl Halftime show, Goodell defended the organization’s decision to put Bad Bunny on the stage. 

According to The Blast, he called it a “carefully thought-through” decision. He also noted that the NFL expected to receive some level of “blowback” and "criticism," over their decision because it’s a recurring theme that happens every year.

He further added that making such decisions is usually hard due to the sheer number of people who watch the show. However, the NFL remains “confident” in its decision and said that Bad Bunny’s performance would lead to a “united moment.” 

While the NFL ignored the criticism and maintained its support for Bad Bunny, Trump decided to skip the Super Bowl altogether. 

The Blast confirmed that the president will not be in Northern California for the show because it’s “just too far away” from the White House. 

However, Trump also made it clear that he wasn’t excited about the artists lined up to perform either. He slammed the NFL for making a “terrible choice” by picking Bad Bunny to perform and noted that it’s only going to “sow hatred” among people.