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As the NFL world debates over Grammy-winning Bad Bunny being chosen as the official halftime performer for Super Bowl 2026, league commissioner Roger Goodell has made his feelings clear on the matter. Speaking just days before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots go head-to-head at Super Bowl LX, Goodell didn't mince words.

During his annual State of the NFL address in San Jose, Goodell addressed concerns surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations at the Super Bowl. This comes after his decision to honour Martin Luther King Jr. during the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs with 'choose love' end zone stencils.

Goodell also responded directly to Bad Bunny's anti-ICE comments at the Grammy Awards. He confirmed that there would be no changes to Super Bowl security planning, emphasising that the game remains a SEAR (Special Event Assessment Rating) 1 event coordinated by federal, state and local agencies, as it has been for decades.

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Meanwhile, the NFL found itself having to issue a statement after a billionaire team owner was implicated in the Epstein Files. Homeland Security classifies SEAR 1s as major events of national or international significance with intricate logistical demands.

The Super Bowl joins other high-profile occasions including February's Winter Olympics, this summer's FIFA World Cup, and the World Baseball Classic spanning San Juan, Houston, Tokyo, and Miami, Florida. Bad Bunny sparked controversy at the Grammys by shouting "ICE out" whilst collecting several gongs, just days ahead of his Super Bowl halftime show appearance.

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NFL Commissioner Goodell stood firmly behind the league's choice of performer, describing Bad Bunny as amongst the planet's most powerful artists and emphasising his worldwide appeal as crucial to the decision.

"Bad Bunny, I think, demonstrated last night that he is one of the great artists in the world," Goodell stated. "That's one of the reasons we chose him.

"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."

The Puerto Rican superstar made history as his record became the first entirely Spanish-language album to claim Album of the Year, whilst also bagging Best Musica Urbana Album and Best Global Music Performance. The NFL chief's remarks came on the heels of an anonymous survey revealing a divided locker-room response to Bad Bunny's selection.

While many backed the decision, a few players were either clueless about him or queried why the Super Bowl doesn't consistently showcase American performers. This is despite Bad Bunny being a Puerto Rican-born American citizen and the event's history of featuring international acts.