Pepsi Will No Longer Sponsor Super Bowl Halftime Show

The soda company has had the rights for the last 10 years, but now they are ready to “pass the mic.”

After a decade of sponsoring the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Pepsi announced on Tuesday that the company will no longer be the namesake for the annual performance.

“After 10 years of iconic Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show performances, we have decided it’s time to pass the mic,” Pepsi said, via the company’s Twitter announcement. “Thank you to the amazing artists and fans who helped us create some incredible moments along the way. Now on to the next stage…”

After 10 years of iconic Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show performances, we have decided it’s time to pass the mic. 🎤  Thank you to the amazing artists and fans who helped us create some incredible moments along the way. 👏 Now on to the next stage… 👀

— Pepsi (@pepsi) May 24, 2022

The soda company’s contract with the NFL expired after the 2021–22 season. Pepsi did renew the sponsorship deal with the league, but the new deal does not include the company sponsoring the halftime show.

Per Front Office Sports, Pepsi is reportedly wanting to dive into digital media for its upcoming projects. This is mainly due to a slight decrease in broadcast viewers. For example, this year’s show brought in around 103.4 million viewers, while the ’15 show brought in around 120.7 million viewers.

Now, it’s time for the league to find a new sponsorship partner. The halftime show rights will sell for around $40 to $50 million, reportedly. 

“We’ve received an incredible amount of interest from the marketplace and look forward to announcing a new partner,” the league announced.

In the last 10 years, Pepsi has brought on 26 musical acts, including 2022’s performance by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. Here’s a list of the performances from every Super Bowl Halftime Show in history.

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