Tell the NFL to pay its Super Bowl halftime performers a fair wage!

Outrage erupted on social media this week when dancer and activist Taja Riley took to Instagram to protest the NFL’s refusal to pay its backup dancers for the halftime show at the Super Bowl.

While the NFL is paying 115 professional dancers for their time, the league has asked for 400 more “volunteers” to play the “field cast,” performing the role of an enthusiastic crowd that dances to the music of hip-hop legends Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar.

These up-and-coming dancers, actors, singers, and musicians are all expected to attend at least 72 hours of grueling, unpaid rehearsals, sometimes for nine hours a day, while paying for their own transportation and signing strict confidentiality agreements. 

Add your name to tell the NFL to pay ALL its performers the fair wages they deserve!

Despite the entertainment industry’s insistence to the contrary, nobody’s figured out a way to pay bills or buy groceries with “exposure” — and the NFL, which regularly pulls in over $10 billion a year in profits, can definitely afford to pay everyone involved with the production of the most-watched sporting event in the country. 

To add insult to injury, Riley shared an email from a prominent LA casting agency that showed the NFL was specifically looking to recruit “African-American movers” to “volunteer.” 

“Four hundred predominantly unpaid Black workers during Black History Month with Black creators and Black artists — this is unacceptable. Whether it’s one volunteer or 400, every single person working the most profitable event of the year should be paid,” said Riley to the LA Times.

NFL executives have made a big show about fighting for equality and justice, with performative TV ads and allowing the players to put “STOP RACISM” on the back of their helmets. Now it’s time for them to put their money where their mouth is.

Sign your name to demand fair wages for Super Bowl halftime show dancers!