Beyoncé to star in NFL half-time show on Christmas Day

Beyoncé has confirmed she will headline the NFL’s half-time show on Christmas Day, marking an exciting milestone for fans of both music and football. The performance will take place during the game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, one of two matches scheduled for that day. The second game will feature the Kansas City Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and both will be streamed live on Netflix.

This half-time show will be a special occasion for Beyoncé, as it will be the first time she performs songs from her latest album, Cowboy Carter. She first introduced the album during her Super Bowl appearance earlier this year, where she released the singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” shortly after appearing in an ad during the game. Cowboy Carter was officially released in March and is the second album in a planned trilogy, following her 2022 album Renaissance.

The album marks a departure from her usual style, as it explores country music, featuring collaborations with artists like Miley Cyrus and Post Malone. Cowboy Carter has received critical acclaim and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards, where Beyoncé is also up for ten other nominations, including Best Country Album and Song of the Year for “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

Beyoncé announced her Christmas Day performance with a series of posts on social media, teasing the show with images of herself catching a football while standing on a vintage American car adorned with roses, all while donning her signature cowboy hat. Fans can also expect some surprise guest appearances during the half-time show, as Netflix hinted that some of the artists featured on Cowboy Carter might join her on stage.

This won’t be Beyoncé’s first time performing at an NFL event. She previously headlined the Super Bowl half-time show in 2013 and returned in 2016 to perform alongside Coldplay and Bruno Mars in the most-watched half-time show in history. Now, her return to the NFL stage on Christmas Day promises to be another historic moment for both the music and sports worlds.

Christmas Day NFL games have been a holiday tradition since the 1980s, and this year, the matches will be streamed globally on Netflix as part of the streaming platform’s expanding sports offerings. In May, Netflix announced it had signed a deal with the NFL to broadcast games through 2026, marking a significant move into the sports broadcasting arena. The decision to stream live NFL games was part of Netflix’s larger strategy to diversify its content and tap into live-event programming, which has proven successful in attracting large audiences.

“Last year, we made a big bet on live events,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer. “There are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts.” In fact, Netflix recently made headlines for streaming its first live boxing event, a fight between heavyweight Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul, which was watched by 60 million households worldwide despite some technical glitches.

For NFL fans in the U.S., the games will still be available to watch on broadcast TV and through the NFL+ app, ensuring that viewers in competing cities can tune in. However, the deal with Netflix offers the NFL a unique opportunity to reach a global audience, a key goal for the league. “We couldn’t be more excited to be the first professional sports league to partner with Netflix,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution. “The NFL on Christmas has become a tradition, and partnering with Netflix, whose biggest day of the year is typically this holiday, is the perfect combination to grow this event globally.”

With Beyoncé’s highly anticipated performance and the global reach of Netflix’s broadcast, this Christmas Day NFL spectacle is poised to be one of the most-watched events of the year, combining the best of live sports with a star-studded musical performance. Fans around the world can look forward to an unforgettable holiday celebration.