NFL players are divided on Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl Halftime Show

The debate around the next Super Bowl halftime show isn’t just happening on sports talk radio or social media — it’s happening inside locker rooms, too.

When the NFL announced in September that Bad Bunny would headline the 2026 halftime performance, the reaction was immediate. Some outside critics questioned the choice, including President Donald Trump. But league officials never wavered. Commissioner Roger Goodell later made clear the NFL wasn’t reconsidering the pick, keeping the global superstar locked in as the first Spanish-language headliner for the stage.

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Among players, the response has been anything but unanimous, according to The New York Times.

Several veterans admitted they simply don’t know the music.

“I don’t even know who Bad Bunny is,” one NFC offensive player said. “I always think it should be an American. I think they’re trying too hard with this international stuff.”

Another echoed that sentiment, saying he’d rather see “someone synonymous with football and football culture,” adding that plenty of artists who love the game could fit the bill.

A third player questioned whether the league could have chosen “better examples of character and morality.”

But not everyone sees it that way.

Others pointed to the league’s expanding global footprint and the Super Bowl’s worldwide audience as reasons the selection makes sense.

“I don’t speak Spanish, so I’m not a big fan musically,” an NFC defensive player said. “But America is based on diversity. Having him up there kind of represents that. I like the choice.”

A special teamer kept it simple: “I love the culture behind it.”

Even some players who don’t follow Bad Bunny’s catalog understand the business side. One noted that the artist consistently ranks among the most-streamed musicians on the planet and called the move “good for ratings.”

There are also genuine fans inside the league.

“When I was training in Florida, his music was everywhere,” an offensive player said. “It’s a bop.”

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Another added with a laugh, “It’s going to be a good time. The girls like Bad Bunny, so of course, we’re going to like it.”