Super Bowl Halftime Headache? How Jay-Z in the Headlines Could Impact Roc Nation’s NFL Deal

Over the weekend, a gloating 50 Cent took to Instagram to re-caption a still-popular meme that may have gone over fans’ heads. The post, meant to dunk on his rap rival Jay-Z, is an image of 50 from his cameo on HBO’s Entourage, and it’s captioned: “Ok I don’t know what’s going on, but are we gonna still have the Super Bowl. 😟I’m just asking for a friend!” 

If you don’t get the gag, don’t worry, you’re not out of touch. The punchline here relies on you knowing that Jay-Z, who on Sunday was named in a civil suit accusing him and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl, runs the entertainment company Roc Nation, which has been producing the Super Bowl Halftime Show for the past five years. 50 Cent is also producing an investigative docuseries on Diddy for Netflix. (A rep for 50 Cent did not return The Hollywood Reporter‘s message on Monday seeking further comment on his post.)

 

 

 

 

 

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50 Cent’s social media display of schadenfreude implies a concern — imaginary or anticipated — that the media attention surrounding the allegations may spill over into Roc Nation’s successful partnership with the National Football League. Jay-Z, who serves as executive producer of the Super Bowl halftime show, and his company, transformed the big game’s musical interlude from a rock and country affair to feature a diverse array of current artists, starting in 2020. Aligning with Apple in 2023, the production was elevated even more, resulting in record audience numbers for recent performances featuring Usher (2024) and Rihanna (2023).

The price tag for these stadium-sized performances is, of course, in the many millions of dollars — and that’s with the featured artist performing for free. The ad revenue for the 12-to-15-minute halftime show alone could reach eight figures, so, a guiding principle for an organization like the NFL and its broadcast partner is to steer clear of controversy, especially post-Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” fiasco.

So how could Jay-Z, the business, and Shawn Carter, the man, be impacted vis-a-vis Super Bowl LIX, scheduled for Feb. 9 in New Orleans with Kendrick Lamar helming halftime? A response to the civil suit posted to Roc Nation’s X (formerly Twitter) account may be the very words that make affiliation questionable in the court of public opinion. Even if the statement, written from the point of view of a father and with unapologetic conviction in the voice of Hov, received praise for its construction.

In it are claims that attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing the female Jane Doe, was attempting to blackmail the rap mogul by filing the suit for such a “heinous” crime. “What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” the page-long post reads. “No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!! These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever [sic] would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

Why Carter posted the unsigned note to the Roc Nation X account and not his own X account is unclear; while Carter’s X account has been relatively dormant since 2018, it’s still alive and has 2.9 million followers (THR has reached out to the rapper’s rep and Roc Nation for comment). Yet the fact that the rap mogul’s response was delivered through Roc Nation is why the Super Bowl contract may come into play — in another circumstance, wouldn’t Apple, the NFL and Fox try to distance themselves from a business partner accused of an unforgivable sexual assault?

In response to the filing, Carter, through his attorney Alex Spiro (who represented Alec Baldwin in the Rust case, resulting in it being dismissed with prejudice), has demanded the accuser reveal her identity, as is customary for a civil case brought in Federal court. A criminal claim cannot be filed in New York due to the statute of limitations for her age and the date of the alleged incident.

Carter is already suing Buzbee, filing a suit after receiving a letter from him that was interpreted as an extortion attempt. An attorney representing Carter also wrote a follow-up message denying the rape allegation formally: “For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Carter is entirely innocent. This is a shakedown. He is not mentioned, referenced, or implicated in any way in the criminal investigation of Mr. Combs. He is neither a target nor a person of interest in that investigation,” it reads. 

If successful in his defense in the civil case, Carter could go on to claim tortious interference, which is when a third party interferes with a business contract or relationship, leading to financial harm.

Buzbee has his own interpretation of the road to legal bedlam, writing on Instagram that there has been a “coordinated and aggressive effort” against him that has included “filing frivolous cases against me and my law firm, defaming me with outrageous assertions to anyone who will listen, and having mysterious people follow me and my family.” Buzbee added, “People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients and the truth will be revealed. I also won’t allow anyone to scare my clients into silence.” THR reached out to Buzbee via his law firm on Tuesday but did not immediately hear back.

As this all unfolds in court, the people are talking. One X user posted, “Jay Z should be removed from any seat with the @NFL,” while another wrote, “Jay Z should lose his job with the @NFL which means all his decisions should be reversed so no Kendrick Super Bowl.”

Roc Nation and the NFL initially inked a five-year contract in 2019; the deal was renewed in October. Carter’s company has been the NFL’s Live Music Entertainment Strategist as a part of the NFL’s Inspire Change Initiative. Upon the renewal, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the working relationship with Roc Nation was “mutually positive.”

Whether the NFL will take action to distance itself from Jay-Z during its biggest and most lucrative game of the year remains to be seen; THR reached out to a league representative on Tuesday to inquire about any possible changes to the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show but did not immediately hear back. 

Meanwhile, 50 Cent continues to weigh in on the developing drama, appearing in an interview posted to BigBoy TV on Monday that showed a little sympathy for Carter and his family. 

“They will fall back… the NFL, they won’t necessarily be associated to that,” Jackson said. “I just hope things are alright for him internally, at the crib. It isn’t what you did. It’s what they said you did. The damage is already done by the allegation itself.”

Update, 12/11 1:25 p.m: On Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, the NFL’s relationship with the hip-hop mogul will not be impacted by the rape allegation.

“With the ongoing legal process, there’s no change to the relationship with Roc Nation and that includes the Super Bowl,” one anonymous source said, the AP reported.