After seven years of deciding who plays the NFL's biggest stage, Jay-Z is reportedly taking it himself.

According to a Puck report published October 20 and cited by Deadline, Hypebeast and TheGrio, the Roc Nation founder selected himself to headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show, scheduled for February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Deadline says a music industry insider confirmed the booking, while Hypebeast notes multiple sources told Puck that Jay-Z, who holds final say on halftime bookings, chose his own name after Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber were also considered.

If true, it would be the first time Jay-Z has taken the Super Bowl stage in his career.

The reported move is a striking reversal because Jay-Z is not just a candidate — he is the decision-maker.

Under the 2019 partnership between Roc Nation and the NFL, brokered after Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to modernize the halftime show and repair the league's relationship with fans, Carter curates the league's major entertainment events; Hypebeast values the arrangement at $5 million a year and notes it was extended five more years in 2024.

The timing tracks with a massive retrospective year.

Jay-Z has spent 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of his 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint with a stadium run that Hypebeast, citing Puck, says grossed more than $42 million across three sold-out Yankee Stadium nights in July, plus a headlining slot at Philadelphia's 80,000-capacity Roots Picnic on May 30 and a sold-out Paris show that brought in $12 million last month.

Deadline adds that an eight-part HBO docuseries, Jay-Z in 8, made with Rick Rubin, launched last month. Puck reportedly viewed these ticket sales as evidence he remains a major draw.

Unlike recent headliners Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny, who took the stage behind current chart hits, Clarin notes Jay-Z has not released a studio album since 2017's double-platinum 4:44, and his last top-five Billboard Hot 100 entry was Beyoncé's "Drunk in Love" in 2013.

The New York Post reports his July Yankee Stadium finale ran 45 songs with guests including Rihanna, Usher, Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri and Beyoncé, a preview of what a 13-minute Super Bowl set could compress.

Guest speculation is already running hot.

Deadline reports Beyoncé is a likely pick — she appeared during the Yankee Stadium leg of the tour — with Nas and Pharrell Williams also part of the New York shows, while the London leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium featured a mini-Fugees reunion with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef.

Hypebeast frames that reunion as a hint at the guest roster a Super Bowl set could command before a global television audience exceeding 120 million viewers.

Nothing is official yet. TheGrio and WABI stress the NFL and Roc Nation have not commented, and Deadline reports the league did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Until the league or Roc Nation confirms, TheGrio cautions the booking remains an industry claim rather than an official announcement, and fans will be watching the Inglewood stage closely.