Why Kendrick Lamar didn’t get paid for the Super Bowl halftime show last night despite unbelievable performance

Kendrick Lamar performed one of the best halftime shows of all time at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday (9 February).

On the field, however, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win the Super Bowl in what turned out to be a massive shock.

On the stage though, Kendrick brought out his sidekick SZA as the pair pretty much killed it with countless classics, one after the other.

The rapper, 37, even performed the 'Not Like Us' diss track, all while Drake's lawyers have filed a defamation lawsuit against record label Universal Music Group.

Although he let the crowd sing the most controversial lyric from the diss track, where he called the Canadian a 'certified p**dophile'.

But without naming Kendrick in the suit, it alleges that the claims in the song were baseless and harmful to his career.

Universal also said Drake's allegations are false.

Meanwhile, it might come as a bit of a shock that the Compton MC is unlikely to receive a single penny for his performance.

Why Kendrick Lamar hasn't been paid for headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show

Kendrick Lamar completely bossed the Super Bowl LIX halftime show (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

Every single year, the NFL refuses to pay the artist directly, but what they will do is cover expenses and production costs, to an extent, reports Forbes.

But given how expensive it can be to run a show, some musicians have reportedly spent their own money to have it exactly how they want.

In 2021, The Weeknd was said to have thrown a whopping $7 million (£5.7 million) at his set, while Dr Dre reportedly also spent 'millions' of his own money a year later.

But this is far from a charity gig, after last year 129.3 million tuned in to Usher's halftime performance, which boosted his Spotify streams by 550 percent.

When it comes to Kendrick, he performed 'Not Like Us' on the night, which has already passed a billion on Spotify alone, and is expected to rack up some more numbers in the aftermath.

It's not the first time Kendrick has performed at the Super Bowl

One of the best Super Bowl halftime moments ever (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Fans might remember when Dr Dre brought out the likes of Kendrick, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and even 50 Cent in 2022.

It was truly a legendary moment, with people calling it 'the best halftime show ever'.

"The opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, and to do it in my own backyard, will be one of the biggest thrills of my career," said Dre before the show.