NFL Directly Address Bad Bunny’s ICE Protest Days Before Super Bowl Performance

The Commissioner of the NFL has directly commented on whether Bad Bunny will protest against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) during his upcoming half-time performance at Super Bowl LX.

On Sunday (February 8), the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will battle it out at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Fans will, no doubt, be looking forward to watching the very best that the NFL has to offer, while others may have one eye on the entertainment which is synonymous with the Super Bowl.

American rock band Green Day will kick off the event by playing a set at the opening ceremony before Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny will headline the half-time show and will become the first Latin American male to do so in the 60 editions of the Super Bowl.

Bad Bunny – formerly Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – performs mostly using Spanish and has been a critic of Trump and the US government’s immigration policy, including ICE, even refusing to perform on the US mainland in 2025 after claiming that the potential presence of ICE at his concerts could be an “issue” for his fans.

On February 1, the 31-year-old won Album of the Year at the 68th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, and he used the moment to double down on his stance on ICE.

"Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say ICE out," Bad Bunny said.

“We're not savages, we're not animals, we're not aliens – we're humans.”

ICE killed two American citizens – Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti – in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January, which provoked widespread outrage and protests across the nation.

President Trump has since promised to “de-escalate” in the state of Minnesota.

And despite the President already confirming that he won’t be at the Super Bowl due to logistical reasons, he will likely still be a topic of interest.

Given Bad Bunny’s recent Grammys speech, there have been suggestions that he could make similar comments during his half-time show.

However, Commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell has made clear that he doesn’t expect the performance to take a political turn.

“Bad Bunny, and I think that was demonstrated last night, is one of the great artists in the world,” Goodell said.

“That’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that.

“I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands it, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”

Super Bowl half-time performers are chosen by the NFL with input from Apple Music and Roc Nation – a company founded by rapper and producer Jay-Z.