The NFL Loves Halftime Controversy, Ex Super-Agent Ben Dogra Says

Love it or hate it, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime performance shattered an all-time record with 4.157 billion views. The more controversial, the better it is for the NFL says former super-agent Ben Dogra.

The 60-year-old Dogra, who was the Co-Head of CAA Football and represented clients like Adrian Peterson, Richard Sherman, and Robert Griffin III, says the NFL’s most lucrative asset isn’t a quarterback or TV deal. In fact, it’s the argument that follows the halftime show.

“The NFL is a $21 billion money-making machine,” Dogra says.

“Controversy sells. The more you talk about something, whether it's right, wrong or indifferent, it drives ratings. Nobody wants to talk about Mother Teresa. Everybody wants to talk about how bad the performance was.”

Why Bad Bunny was the perfect choice by the NFL

Dogra specifically referred to how polarizing Bad Bunny, who is Puerto Rican and his songs are in Spanish, was for this Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, but the results speak for themselves and is exactly what the NFL wanted.

Having Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform together definitely caused a stir at the Super Bowl. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“How many of those people in the stands really understand the music? They don't," he said.

“It is not meant for them. It is meant for the masses. And when you talk about it afterward, when we're talking about it now, weeks after the Super Bowl ended, that is exactly what they want.”

And that’s the secret sauce: Get people talking. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell certainly knows that.

"Any publicity is good publicity. If you get no publicity, you are not relevant," he said. "The NFL knows what they are doing. They hire the right people. They do this on a consistent basis."

Dogra pointed out that the Super Bowl's value as a platform extends far beyond sports fans.

A 30-second commercial spot during this year's game cost roughly $10 million.

"Whether you are Netflix, the NFL, newscasting, or a hospital, you are looking at how to generate the hits," he said. "It is a business. They are not doing it because they have nothing better to do. When the Super Bowl is over, all these advertisers are looking forward to seeing how they are rated."

Ben Dogra with former NFL star Dashon Goldson | Ben Dogra

Dogra was at the 2026 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, chopping it up with league execs and former players.

He’s been out of the business since 2023 and is now working on a docuseries about his life and rise to prominence as an NFL agent.

Dogra began his career as an unpaid intern in 1993 and rose through the ranks.

He co-led CAA Football before moving to Relativity Sports.