The NFL is determined to grow the game of football outside of the United States of America. In 2026, there will be more international games than ever before, and this year, instead of having an English-speaking artist perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, they selected Bad Bunny. While Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, a territory of the US, all of his songs are sung in Spanish. This has caused quite the stir in the NFL fanbase, but Seattle Seahawks DE DeMarcus Lawrence backs the NFL’s decision.

“We have so many cultures and ethnic backgrounds in America, I think it’s time to start embracing all of them,” Lawrence said. “That’s what really makes America great.”

Part of the reason the NFL is setting its sights abroad is to bring a larger NFL presence to Latin Americans, which was a big reason they selected Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show. There’s a largely untapped potential fanbase south of the border, and the league is trying to spread their reach as far as possible.

This decision did not come without controversy, though. With ICE raiding people’s doorsteps and deporting hundreds, if not more, people a day, the choice to have someone not from the continental US (even though he’s still a US citizen) has not been met with overwhelming support from NFL fans.

Bad Bunny Makes His Feelings Clear on ICE

Just days before he was set to take center stage at the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny was at the Grammys, where he won three awards. During his first acceptance speech, Bad Bunny made his feelings about ICE clear.

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ICE out,” Bad Bunny said on Sunday night. “We are not savages. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans. I know it’s tough not hate these days. And I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminated.”

Just a day later, while Roger Goodell was giving his annual state of the league address prior to the Super Bowl, he was asked about Bad Bunny’s statement at the Grammys.

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“Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” Goodell said. “But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on and that this platform is to use 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 that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”

Whether you like the choice to make Bad Bunny the halftime performer or not, you have to admit it’s great for the league. Bad Bunny has a massive fanbase outside of the US, and his performance will help the NFL’s initiative to grow the game outside of the 50 states.