Total Pro Sports
You don’t usually hear about fines when a singer takes the stage, but Beyonce’s Christmas halftime show in Houston last year came with a surprising price tag. She turned NRG Stadium into a concert hall, but the NFL wasn’t just focused on the music.
Officials were worried about the hundreds of rhinestones on her outfit and how many might end up on the turf.
Netflix went big with its 2024 Christmas doubleheader. The Chiefs faced the Steelers, then the Ravens crushed the Texans 31-2. The game was forgettable, but Beyonce stole the night. She rode in on horseback, dropped her coat, and lit up the stadium in a rhinestone bodysuit.
The crowd cheered, Netflix loved it, but the NFL worried about safety. As for the fans, some were angered and called out Netflix, accusing Beyonce’s halftime show of being “hyper-sexualized.”
According to US Weekly, league officials warned Beyonce’s team before kickoff. Every crystal that slipped off her outfit could cost her $500. The concern wasn’t about fashion. It was safety. Anything sharp or slippery on the turf could trip up players. A source told the outlet, “It’s for players’ safety because anything like that on the field could cause injury.”
Beyonce and her crew didn’t push back. They agreed to the terms and staged one of the most over-the-top halftime shows ever seen. More than 500 performers joined her. She belted out songs from her country-inspired album Cowboy Carter. She danced in blinged-out Louboutin boots that matched the gems across her suit.
Every move sparkled, and every sparkle had a price tag. But in the end, it was a performance that earned Beyonce an Emmy Award for outstanding costumes for variety, nonfiction or reality programming.
No one knows how much Netflix paid her to headline the night, but some outlets estimate around $20 million. Even if a handful of rhinestones fell, the fines likely didn’t sting much. The NFL may have kept its turf clean, but Beyonce owned the evening.
The game itself faded into the background. What people remembered was a hometown superstar returning to Houston, riding a horse into a stadium, and turning Christmas football into a spectacle. Netflix wanted a moment to mark its arrival in the NFL world. Beyonce gave them one, rhinestone fines and all.
