NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson is the latest celebrity to sound off about the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer — and he didn’t hold back.
Dickerson, 65, unloaded on both the league and the Puerto Rican superstar, questioning why the NFL would select him at all, in a video posted by TMZ on Tuesday, October 7.
“I don’t even know who the hell the guy is. I’ve never heard of him,” Dickerson said. “I’m not that big into music. What’s his name? What the hell does Bad Bunny sing? I don’t know one of [his] songs.”
The former Los Angeles Rams running back went further, accusing the artist of being anti-American.
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“If Bad Bunny don’t like the United States, keep his ass where he at. Don’t come on here singing,” Dickerson continued. “I’m not surprised the NFL would do something like this.”
Dickerson chalked up the selection to the league’s alleged affinity for “political crap.”
When informed that Bad Bunny is a native of Puerto Rico, the former Los Angeles Rams running back continued ranting.
“Keep his ass in Puerto Rico,”Dickerson said. “If he don’t like the U.S., keep his ass over there.
When informed that Puerto Rico is a United States territory, Dickerson was unmoved.
“I know, but still, if he don’t like the U.S., don’t come here and perform,” he said.
Dickerson added that he had “heard some of the stuff” the artist has said about America, though he admitted he wasn’t sure how accurate those reports were. He is referring to an interview with i-D Magazine on September 10th, when Bad Bunny explained why he has recently refused to perform in the United States.
“I don’t know if it’s true —Bad Bunny said something bad about the U.S. — [but if he did], don’t come here and perform,” Dickerson said. “Don’t come here. Stay in your country.”
Dickerson added, “I know Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., but it’s not the U.S. That’s how I look at it. That’s how I feel. They get these performers and they say all this controversial stuff about the United States, about how they hate the U.S. and all that kind of stuff. If you hate the U.S., don’t come here.”
Throughout the clip, Dickerson also used the opportunity to blast the NFL itself. Dickerson was an elite running back in the 1980s, going to six Pro Bowls and setting the single-season rushing record in 1983 with 2,105 yards.
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“The NFL is more crooked than the government, way crookeder than the U.S. government will ever be,” he said. “They don’t care about the players, don’t even get me started on that.”
Dickerson’s comments come amid a wave of backlash to the league’s announcement that Bad Bunny will headline Super Bowl LX in Las Vegas next February.
The 31-year-old global superstar has faced criticism from multiple figures, including President Donald Trump, who told Newsmax on Monday, October 6 that the decision was “absolutely ridiculous.”
“I never heard of him,” he said. “I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy.”
Bad Bunny, for his part, addressed the controversy during his Saturday Night Live appearance last weekend, joking that anyone upset about his performance has “four months to learn.”