The New England Patriots‘ Super Bowl LX appearance is back in the spotlight for an unexpected reason.
Nearly five months after New England’s season ended with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on football’s biggest stage, the championship game is making headlines again. This time, however, it has nothing to do with what happened between the lines.
Instead, it’s because of what happened at halftime.
Bad Bunny’s Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show earned nine Primetime Emmy nominations, setting a new record for the most Emmy nominations ever received by a Super Bowl halftime performance.
The milestone adds another historic chapter to one of the NFL’s biggest annual events, even if this one comes long after the final whistle.
Bad Bunny’s Performance Breaks Previous Super Bowl Record
The halftime show received nominations across nine categories, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Production Design, and Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming.
Bad Bunny is nominated as both the lead performer and one of the show’s producers in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category, sharing the nomination with executive producer Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and the rest of the production team.
GettySANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 08: Bad Bunny performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
The previous record belonged to Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl LI halftime show, which received six Emmy nominations in 2017.
Only one Super Bowl halftime show has ever won Outstanding Variety Special (Live): the acclaimed Super Bowl LVI performance featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.
Bad Bunny’s production now has an opportunity to become just the second halftime show to capture television’s top honor in that category.
The Patriots’ Super Bowl Returns to the Spotlight
While Patriots fans will always remember Super Bowl LX for reasons on the field, the game has now become part of television history as well.
The halftime show is the seventh consecutive Super Bowl performance to earn a nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), extending a streak that has included Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, The Weeknd, Rihanna, Usher and Kendrick Lamar.
This year’s show also stood out because it featured surprise appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin alongside Bad Bunny, helping produce one of the most talked-about halftime performances in recent memory.
The record-breaking nine nominations reflect just how much the Super Bowl has evolved beyond football. What began as a championship game has become one of the biggest nights in entertainment, with the halftime show now viewed as one of television’s premier live productions each year.
For Patriots fans, Super Bowl LX may not have ended the way they hoped after Seattle claimed a 29-13 victory. But months later, the game is making headlines once again, this time because the halftime show that entertained millions has officially rewritten the Emmy record book.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show Just Made Emmy History appeared first on HEAVY.