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Given that there are so many channels and streaming services today, it often feels like pop culture events are a thing of the past. At least it seems like that 364 days a year because there is no doubt that the Super Bowl is watched by millions of people annually. Thanks to the fact that so many people watch the Super Bowl each year, it is a huge deal for anyone who gets to be a part of the show. Of course, the most important people involved are the athletes who perform on the field, but they are far from the only ones.
Aside from the athletes, the other people involved in the Super Bowl that get talked about a lot are the singers who perform during the show. After all, millions of people watch the Super Bowl Halftime Show and loads of people enjoy it when a singer performs the National Anthem.
Unfortunately for anyone who gets tapped to perform at the start of the Super Bowl, things can go awfully for the people who sing the National Anthem. If that wasn't worrisome enough, the truth is that National Anthem performers don't even get to anticipate a huge payday.
How Much Money Was Chris Stapleton Paid To Sing The National Anthem At The Super Bowl?
Since Chris Stapleton first rose to fame, the immensely talented singer has amassed a devoted fan following that can't get enough of his music. As a result of all his fans, Stapleton has been involved in many hit songs including "Say Something", "Starting Over", "You Should Probably Leave", and "Tennessee Whiskey".
When a singer reaches the level of success that Stapleton has, they start to get offered some truly incredible opportunities. A perfect example of that is Stapleton being asked to perform the U.S. National Anthem at 2023's Super Bowl LVII.
There's no doubt that Stapleton considered the fact that millions of people all over the world will be watching him in real time. With that in mind, most people would assume that Stapleton will be making loads of money for his performance. After all, it is one of the biggest TV events if not THE biggest and a shocking amount of money goes into it.
In reality, it appears that Stapleton was paid less by the NFL than he would make if he played a show for a small crowd instead.
Over the years, there have been a lot of discussions about which musicians should play the Super Bowl Halftime Show. What a lot of people who take part in those debates may not realize is some performers likely won't have any interest in playing the Halftime Show since they will be paid next to nothing.
In 2016, NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter spoke to Forbes about how much Halftime performers get paid and her remarks shocked many. “We do not pay the artists. We cover expenses and production costs.”
Three years later, Forbes once again reported on how much Halftime Show performers get paid, and they revealed something very specific. "As in the past Super Bowls, Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi will get union scale, a fraction of the six- and seven-figure sums these acts have banked on a nightly basis."
For anyone unfamiliar with what union scale is, that is the absolute minimum a union performer can get paid while working on a union job.
On the American Federation of Musicians' website, they have several articles that detail what union scale is as of this writing. Since the Super Bowl obviously is an extraordinary show, it seems like the section that applies to it is the "Non-Standard TV Scales".
According to that article, the Halftime performers are paid just over $400 at most. Even if there is another contract that applies to the Halftime show instead, it is clear the Halftime performers will make hundreds of dollars for their efforts.
Considering that Halftime performers get much more attention than the people who sing the National Anthem, it seems very clear Stapleton was paid union scale as well. With that in mind, it may seem surprising that performers like Stapleton and Rihanna want to perform at Super Bowl LVII.
Is Performing The National Anthem A Good Business Decision For Chris Stapleton?
From the outside looking in, it is impossible to know how much Chris Stapleton typically gets paid when he performs a show. That said, it has to be noted that celebritynetworth.com reports that Stapleton has an estimated $25 million fortune as of this writing.
Given the reporting that Stapleton has such an impressive fortune, it seems very safe to say that he gets paid more than hundreds of dollars for his concerts. With that in mind, it may seem like performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl is a laughably bad business decision for Stapleton.
When considering how worthwhile playing the Super Bowl is for Stapleton, there is another thing to consider. If Stapleton wasn't at the Super Bowl, he could spend his time working on new music that would allow him to release another album sooner.
If Stapleton released an album quicker because of skipping the Super Bowl, he could make loads of money. Of course, that is another solid argument for Stapleton to skip the Super Bowl.
All of that said, there is one reason why performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl is a great business decision for Stapleton.
When Stapleton sings for the Super Bowl audience, he will get the chance to introduce himself to millions of people who've never heard his voice before. Since Stapleton is such a compelling performer, there is a lot of potential for him to win lots of new fans if his Anthem performance goes well.
Even if a small fraction of Super Bowl watchers become fans of Stapleton after seeing his anthem performance, that would be a huge deal for his career going forward.