Why Fans Think Taylor Swift Will Perform at 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show

Taylor Swift can drop hints for her projects years in advance — but is she leaving Easter eggs about performing at the Super Bowl?

After wrapping her Eras Tour in December 2024, Swift has been hard at work on her next album. The Life of a Showgirl, which she wrote and recorded in between the concerts, will be released on October 3, 2025.

The news of Swift’s 12th album has fans wondering whether she will tour or stage a one-time-only production to perform the tracks live. There’s perhaps no bigger stage than the Super Bowl — especially now that Swift is a bona fide football fan. (Swift started learning about the sport when she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in 2023, even cheering him on at the Super Bowl in 2024 and 2025.)

The next NFL championship, Super Bowl LX, will be held on February 8, 2026, at San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium. Apple Music and Roc Nation, which sponsor the halftime show, have not publicly revealed the headliner yet.

The Super Bowl Has an Odd Number of Links to Taylor Swift's Favorite No. 13

Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the clues that could point to Swift’s musical appearance at the Super Bowl:

A Clue in Bread

The Super Bowl speculation started swirling after Swift’s debut on Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast in August 2025.

“I have a different baking obsession every six months, [and] right now, we’re very deep in a sourdough obsession that has taken over my life,” Swift said. “Sourdough has taken over my life in a huge way. I’m really talking about bread 60 percent of the time now. It’s become a huge factor.”

Swifties subsequently tried to connect the number “60” — which matches the 2025 Super Bowl numeral — and the type of bread itself.

“Taylor Swift said she has spent 60% of her time thinking about sourdough? Super Bowl 60 is at Levi’s Stadium, home of the 49ers,” one X user wrote.

Others pointed out that the San Francisco 49ers’ mascot is known as Sourdough Sam, which happens to share a word with the bread that Swift’s recently been making for her loved ones.

Taylor Swift performs ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart’ during her ‘Eras Tour’ Concert in Indianapolis in November 2024. Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

All About Numerology 

During her “New Heights” appearance, Swift spoke about the importance of numbers and their meanings. (Swift has even long been a fan of the number 13.)

“The 49ers will host the 60th Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium,” an X user later theorized. “And, of course, 2026 will be Travis Kelce’s 13th NFL season.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, Swift used the number “47” twice.

“Thank you for screaming for, like, 47 seconds for me, that was so nice,” she told Travis’ brother, Jason Kelce, of his podcast introduction, later correcting him to note that she visited “47,000 countries” on The Eras Tour. She performed at the Niners stadium in July 2023, which was the 47th stop on the tour schedule.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce after the Chiefs won the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Super Bowl History

While Swift attended the 2024 and 2025 games in person to support the Chiefs’ attempt at a “threepeat” victory — the Chiefs won in 2024 but lost in 2025 — she watched from afar many years before.

“I would go to sporting events so that I could sing the national anthem, like, everything was a means to an end to get to do music,” Swift said on “New Heights” about her athletic history. “I know every halftime show from the Super Bowls, but I didn’t watch the sports.”

In addition, fans previously thought that Swift “blessed” New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome months before the Chiefs made it to the 2025 Super Bowl. While performing her Eras Tour shows in Louisiana, Swift mimicked Travis’ signature first down dance during her “Midnight Rain” routine. The following nights, she pretended to throw a football and pantomimed a touchdown.

 A Vast Catalog to Choose From

Super Bowl performers often sing a medley of their biggest hits at the big game, and now that Swift retains ownership of her entire discography, she could perform any track — original or the Taylor’s Version — live. (Swift revealed in May that she bought her masters back from Shamrock Capital after a yearslong battle.)

“All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me,” she said in a lengthy letter shared via her website. “All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership [and] with full autonomy.”

If Swift signs on to perform at the Super Bowl, she wouldn’t have to get outside approval over the setlist like she had needed at the 2019 American Music Awards. Plus, the NFL championship will take place months after The Life of a Showgirl drops and could potentially be a perfect promotional opportunity.