Fact Check: Is Oliver Anthony Playing at the Super Bowl?

Oliver Anthony has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame ever since a clip of him performing his hit song, "Rich Men North of Richmond," went viral in August.

Considered by some to be a conservative anthem for taking aim at "welfare cheats", the obese, taxation, and making references to QAnon and Jeffrey Epstein, the song has put Anthony in the middle of a social media storm.

His fans and other people have pored over his every word, song lyric, and social media post to discern his political leanings. As a result, rumors about him, his beliefs, and his music career have become fodder for social media users.

"I've waited for this opportunity to have a real conversation with somebody about whatever it is I am," Anthony said on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He said people have been trying to assign an identity to him ever since he garnered viral popularity.

"They want to sort of build this image of whatever it is that the person behind the song represents, for better or for worse."

The Claim

Social media users and some fans of Anthony have claimed the country music star will perform at the 2024 NFL Super Bowl.

Some claimed Anthony had agreed to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, while others demanded he be paid to sing at the biggest sporting event of the year.

Another rumor going around was that Anthony was offered $100,000 to sing at the Super Bowl.

The Facts

No performers have been announced as yet for the 2024 Super Bowl pre-game and halftime entertainment. The halftime show act is usually announced towards the end of September. For example, Rihanna revealed she was doing this year's show on her social media on September 25, 2022, which was the same day as the NFL's announcement. The 2022 show featuring Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg, and 50 Cent was announced on September 30, 2021.

Super Bowl performers do not get paid a fee to perform, but the NFL does cover the union scale. The exposure from the show, which can get more than 100 million TV viewers, is an attractive prospect for many artists. The NFL also foots the bill of the half-time show which can cost millions of dollars.

The NFL's former vice president of communications, Brian McCarthy, told Newsweek in 2022: "The NFL covers all costs associated with the show and does pay the performers' union scale. There is not an appearance fee, but the artists are indeed paid union scale."

"Union scale" is the minimum amount that bosses have to pay performers, as dictated by their union.

Anthony himself has addressed the Super Bowl rumors a couple of times, including during his appearance on Rogan's podcast.

"People have formed an opinion about whether or not I should be paid to sing at the Super Bowl. Like, I am not singing at the Super Bowl. That's just something somebody has made up," he said.

The singer also addressed the rumor with a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post on Tuesday.

Standing in a field in front of two goats, Anthony spoke to the camera about the negative comments he had received over attending the Burning Man festival, but in the caption referred to the Super Bowl fracas.

"Social media has become the modern day grocery store tabloid. (See y'all at the Superbowl ❤️)," he joked.

The Ruling

False.

Aside from the fact that Anthony himself has denied he was performing at the Super Bowl, the performers have not been announced for the 2024 event.

At the time of publication, there was no evidence that Anthony would be performing at the event, and he has denied it.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK

UPDATE: 09/06/2023, 7:14 a.m. ET. This article was updated to add the latest information.