American football may not be as popular in Puerto Rico as baseball, basketball and boxing, but many more islanders are expected to tune in to the Super Bowl halftime show in February because of the headliner — Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. “Given Bad Bunny’s stature, there’re going to be a lot of people who will be watching who have no interest in football — just to see the spectacle,” says Amilcar Barreto, a native of Puerto Rico and professor of cultures, societies and global studies; international affairs; and political science at Northeastern University.
The National Football League made a bold commercial choice, he says, but it could backfire. The singer’s “unapologetically political” messaging might not sit well with the NFL’s current fan base, Barreto adds.
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has made a meteoric rise. In 2016, he was bagging groceries in a coastal town near San Juan. Within a few years, he became an international rap star and the most-played artist on Spotify for three straight years between 2020 and 2022. He won Best Latin Artist at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, and in 2022 became the first non-English speaking artist to win MTV’s VMA Artist of the Year. In early 2025, his album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS topped the global charts, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and became the first non-English album with all its songs entering the Billboard Hot 100.
“If you’re thinking about music culture right now, he’s at the top of the summit,” Barreto says. By choosing him for the halftime show, the NFL is trying to appeal to younger demographics, Barreto says, at a time when the demographic change is inflaming U.S. politics.
