Super Bowl Halftime Show Costs More Than GDP of 17 Countries

The NFL confirmed this week that the total production cost for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show exceeded $320 million, a figure that places it somewhere between "the annual budget of Iceland's military" and "a rounding error for the league's broadcast deal." The performance featured a rotating stage that hydraulically emerged from beneath the field, 600 synchronized dancers who rehearsed for four months, pyrotechnics visible from low Earth orbit, and — in what producers called a "surprise moment" — a brief appearance by a hologram that cost more than most people's houses. Viewers at home watched on screens while eating chips, largely unaware that each second of entertainment they consumed cost roughly the same as a mid-range sedan. The commercials, meanwhile, ran $8 million per 30 seconds, which means the bathroom break economy has never been more lucrative.