Terrell Owens Calls Jay-Z Super Bowl Pick A Conflict Of Interest

Terrell Owens thinks Jay-Z’s place on the Super Bowl LXI halftime stage raises a basic fairness question.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer challenged the decision during his Get TO The Point podcast after the NFL named Jay-Z as the February 14, 2027 headliner at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

“I think it’s a conflict of interest,” Owens said.

His argument centers on Roc Nation’s role with the league. Jay-Z’s company has worked as the NFL’s strategic entertainment adviser and has helped shape the halftime show since 2019. Roc Nation will also executive produce the upcoming performance.

Owens questioned why someone involved in the process would end up with the slot himself. He said other performers had earned a chance and singled out Lil Wayne.

“I think Lil Wayne deserves an opportunity,” Owens said, pointing to the New Orleans rapper’s worldwide audience.

The criticism lands differently once the NFL’s version of the decision is added. Commissioner Roger Goodell said he had asked Jay-Z to perform from the beginning of the Roc Nation partnership.

Goodell said his one request was “that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right to him.”

That official account suggests the league had been pushing the idea for years, rather than Jay-Z simply putting his own name at the top of the list.

The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Jay-Z’s set on October 26. It will be the first Super Bowl halftime performance led by the Brooklyn rapper, whose company has helped produce shows featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, The Weeknd, Rihanna, Usher, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.

Owens did leave room to be won over. He said the show could change his view if Jay-Z used the moment to bring out artists who had been passed over, including Lil Wayne. He argued that a guest appearance by one of those performers would show the headliner had listened to years of criticism about the selection process.

That makes Owens’ complaint more than a simple attack on Jay-Z. He is asking who gets access to the biggest stage in music and whether the person helping to open that door should also walk through it.

For now, the NFL is standing behind its choice, and Jay-Z has described the booking as the next step in a 30-year journey from Reasonable Doubt to the Super Bowl. Owens will be watching to see who else gets invited along.