Superstar Beyonce will pay ‘hundreds of thousands’ of dollars to sing at the Super Bowl, MailOnline can reveal.
The NFL will pay only production costs – of around $600,000 – for Sunday’s hotly anticipated halftime show, but the costs of putting on the performance are far higher, meaning she will have to find the extra cash.
But don’t feel too sad for Beyonce. She will make millions from the performance due to the free advertising her music will be given, massively boosting sales.
And she’s also signed a $50 million deal with halftime show sponsors Pepsi.
Something to say?: It looked like Beyonce might have been referencing her recent lip-synching scandal when she shared this photo on her Instagram page
Profitable Pepsi: Beyonce has teamed up with the soft drink chiefs for the Super Bowl
The 31-year-old singer is gearing up to perform in front of millions around the world on Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: ‘We pay the production costs for the halftime show, there is no fee for the artists.’
While explaining the matter, Marc Ganis, president of the consultancy Sportscorp Ltd.told MailOnline the performance would be partly funded by halftime show sponsor Pepsi, with whom Beyonce recently signed a whopping $50 million deal.
The deal will even see her face emblazoned across soda cans.
Mr Ganis said: ”Beyonce will not get paid, but her back up singers, her musicians, all the extras – they will be paid by the NFL production budget.
‘But last year, for Madonna’s show, the budget certainly exceeded the budget the NFL gave her, and that will almost certainly be the same this year.
‘This means the artists have to pay the difference out of their own pocket – it won’t be the act themselves, but their business side. Their record label, or even Pepsi could fund it for Beyonce.’
Madonna’s halftime show last year featured Nicki Minaj, Brit singer M.I.A, Cee Lo Green as well as electronic dance duo LMFAO – as well as toga-clad tightrope walker Andy Lewis.
It was watched by a whopping 48.3 per cent of the available TV audience, and drew an astonishing 114 million viewers.
She is believed to have been given a budget of $600,000 by the NFL to pay for the production – but spent well over $1 million for the performance, which also included chariots, cheerleaders and Givenchy haute couture for the superstar to wear.
While Madonna last year took the opportunity to plug her MDNA tour during the commercial break, Beyonce doesn’t have a new album or tour to promote.
Her HBO documentary Life Is But A Dream will air on February 16.
However, Mr Ganis said: ‘A star like Beyonce is constantly producing in the studio, and her albums and hits are in constant rotation. She always needs to stay in the public eye.
Get ready to rumble: Beyonce’s coming to the superbowl
‘It will be far greater value to her to sell millions of albums and see her hits go back up the iTunes chart than to spend a few hundreds of thousands of dollars to subsidy this performance.
‘Beyonce, like Madonna, will want to have the performance first class, in the best manner possible.’
In the end, said Mr Ganis, ‘Everyone is a a winner, YouTube replays the videos, iTunes sell the singles, Amazon sells the albums, the viewers get a great show and Pepsi gets a huge star to sell its product.’
Discussing the sponsor, Mr Ganis said that although the NFL selects its talent without looking at the issue of sponsors and artists, it would not have been likely that Beyonce would have appeared in a halftime show sponsored by Pepsi if she had a deal with rival Coke.
Amid swirling rumours Beyonce will reunite with her Destiny’s Child bandmates, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland – Michelle denied the reports today.
Ready for action: Beyonce stretches during rehearsals for next Sunday’s Super Bowl in a new snap she posted on her Instagram on Friday
Michelle, 32, told WRUG Media: ‘I’m going to be in the musical Fela! I hate to disappoint the people and tell them that it’s not true.’
The singer is headlining a world tour of the Tony Award-winning show, which kicks off Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
According to the show’s website, there are two performances of Fela! at Sidney Harman Hall, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, intruigingly, she will not be appearing in the show that day.
‘I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,’ Williams said of the reunion rumors. ‘But we did record a song with each other before the holidays.’
Destiny’s Child – Love Songs, a greatest hits compilation of the group’s most romantic recordings set for release Tuesday, will feature a new song, Nuclear, their first in eight years.
However, Michelle did hint that a reunion outside the recording studio may still happen, saying: ‘We have talked about it. You know, one day soon.’
Beyonce is already stirring up a frenzy of anticipation for the Sunday’s show.
The singer posted a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt with the words ‘Can I live?’ emblazoned on it, while standing nonchalantly and shrugging her shoulders.
Strutting their stuff: In a second picture, this one black and white, the star’s backup dancers are seen in position
Dancing queen: It’s clear that the feisty star has been putting a lot of work into her routine
The top is also in reference to her husband Jay-Z’s song titled Can I Liv.
The cheeky snap comes after Beyonce shared some snaps of herself on Friday in rehearsals for her Super Bowl performance.
In one the star is seen stretching and limbering up, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the name of Jay-Z’s basketball team, the Brooklyn Nets.
The second image, which is black and white, shows a wide shot of all her backup dancers in position.
Taking a break: One of Beyonce’s dancers had a lie down in between rehearsals
Artistic: One photo captures Beyonce and her pals in motion as they pull some impressive moves
Beyonce will hope to put behind her the lip synching controversy of last week, when she was accused of miming the National Anthem at President Obama’s inauguration ceremony.
The row began when a spokesman for the Marine Corps Band said on Tuesday that Beyoncé did not sing in real time, instead opting for a pre-recorded track of the song.
Hours later, a Marine spokesman backed off the claim and insisted he didn’t know one way or the other: ‘No one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded’.
Is that you? Beyonce will take to the Super Bowl stage in just a few days and is reported to be joined by her Destiny’s Child band mates
Beyonce has yet to address the reports however, Beyonce’s bandmate Michelle did defend her Destiny’s Child sister on Thursday morning on Good Morning America.
‘It’s disappointing and saddening to me,’ Michelle said about the controversy that exploded in the press after members of the U.S. Marine Corps Band suggested the singer did not perform live.
‘It’s just shocking to me that it’s taken on this. I love her so much. I know what she possesses.
‘That was such a big moment for her and I just wish people would just let it go and just continue to look for what she’s going to be bringing for ya’ll in the future.’
Destiny return: Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are rumoured to be joining Beyonce for a Destiny’s Child reunion at the Superbowl