As the NFL prepares for Super Bowl LX, the conversation has been swirling around not just the players, but who’s performing at halftime.
This year, the league planted its flag firmly in global pop culture by selecting 31-year-old Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny), the Puerto Rican superstar and most-streamed artist on the planet, to headline the biggest stage in sports.
But not everyone is all smiles.
In an anonymous survey conducted by The Athletic, NFL players were asked whether they like the NFL’s selection of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show, with 58.6% saying yes and 41.4% saying no.
What’s clear, though, is that the NFL isn’t wavering, and everyone knows it.
“I Don’t Even Know Who He Is”
GettyBad Bunny performs live during “No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí; Una Más” Residencia at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on September 20, 2025 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
For a portion of players, the pushback has little to do with politics and everything to do with taste, or lack of exposure.
“I don’t even know who Bad Bunny is,” said one NFC offensive player. “I always think it should be an American. I think they’re trying too hard with this international stuff.”
Well, Puerto Rico, where Bad Bunny is from, is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
“I do not like it,” a different NFC offensive player said. “(I’d prefer) anyone who’s synonymous with football and football culture. I feel like there’s tons of artists out there who are fans of the game.”
Others framed their objections more loosely. One AFC offensive player said, “I think there are better examples of character and morality than Bad Bunny.”
Those sentiments are echoed outside the league as well. President Donald Trump dismissed the selection outright, saying the decision to have Bad Bunny perform is “absolutely ridiculous.”
Homeland Security officials criticized the NFL publicly.
“They suck, and we’ll win,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in her message to the NFL. “They won’t be able to sleep at night because they don’t know what they believe. And they’re so weak, we’ll fix it.”
Turning Point USA even promised a counter-programmed “All-American Halftime Show.”
“America Was Built on Immigration”
Despite all this, there are still players who are in support of Bad Bunny.
“I do think it’s cool to have him,” said an NFC defensive player who admitted he doesn’t even speak Spanish. “Because America is built on diversity. America was built on immigration. So I feel like having him just furthers that American dream. I like it. I like the choice.”
Another player kept it simple: “I love the culture behind it.”
For some, the argument isn’t emotional; it’s based on performance. One NFC offensive player, who made it clear he’d personally prefer country music at halftime, still saw the logic behind the decision to have Bad Bunny.
“I don’t know who (Bad Bunny) is and never listened to his music,” he said. “But I saw on the year-end data he’s the global leader in music streams; it makes sense to make this a global leader in music streams; it makes sense wanting to make this a global performance. Good for ratings.”
That’s the same conclusion NFL owners and executives reached months ago. Bad Bunny isn’t just popular; he’s a strategic weapon. The league is chasing international growth, with games being played all over the world, including Ireland, England, Germany, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico.
The Latino audience, now more than 70 million strong in the U.S. alone, is a centerpiece of that plan.
As one high-level club executive put it bluntly: “This guy [Bad Bunny] has a massive global reach.”
The NFL Continues to Back Bad Bunny
Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear that the NFL will not replace Bad Bunny.
“It’s carefully thought through,” Goodell said. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
Goodell also added that he has the utmost confidence in Bad Bunny and believes his performance will be a “united moment.”
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show. He [Bad Bunny] understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
The NFL isn’t shying away from showing its support for Bad Bunny.
Commenting a trophy emoji on the NFL’s X (Twitter) account in reaction to Bad Bunny winning Album of the Year, to NFL chief marketing officer Tim Ellis saying, “Well, not everyone has to like everything we do. Bad Bunny is f—ing awesome,” the league isn’t hiding their support.
From filming the halftime trailer in Puerto Rico to telling critics they have “four months to learn” Spanish, Bad Bunny hasn’t backed down from expressing his Latino roots.
His recent speech at The Grammys, opening with “ICE out” and closing with a call for love over hate, only reinforced why this halftime show matters to so many people beyond football.
This year, it means more than ever before.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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