U2 is bringing its knack for stadium-sized spectacle to a new kind of stage: Netflix’s NFL Thanksgiving Eve game. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will headline halftime when the Green Bay Packers visit the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Nov. 25, adding another high-profile performance to the streamer’s increasingly star-powered football lineup as the band celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“There’s a reason U2 has headlined stadiums for decades: they don’t just perform, they deliver iconic moments audiences remember forever,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in announcing the booking. “We’re thrilled that they’ll bring that same magic to the NFL stage on Netflix. It’s going to be an unforgettable night for football fans and Netflix members worldwide.”
U2’s appearance follows a run of major musical bookings for Netflix’s NFL broadcasts. Beyoncé headlined the streamer’s inaugural Christmas Day halftime show in 2024, delivering the performance dubbed the Beyoncé Bowl during the Baltimore Ravens/Houston Texans matchup. Last Christmas, Snoop Dogg hosted Snoop’s Holiday Halftime Party during the Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings game, with appearances by Lainey Wilson, Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli and HUNTR/X, the vocal group behind Netflix hit KPop Demon Hunters.
Netflix’s expanded 2026 NFL schedule began with the league’s first-ever regular-season game in Australia, featuring the Rams and San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne. The Thanksgiving Eve matchup is followed by a Christmas Day doubleheader — Packers at Chicago Bears, then Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos — and a Week 18 game with playoff implications. Netflix will also stream NFL Honors globally during Super Bowl week.
For U2, the booking offers a return to football’s biggest entertainment platform nearly 25 years after the band’s memorable Super Bowl XXXVI halftime performance in February 2002. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Bono and company paid tribute to the victims by projecting their names behind the band as Bono revealed an American flag inside his jacket.
The appearance also lands as U2 prepares for a major return to the road. As previously reported, the band has announced the first six dates of its 2027 The Greatest Show on Earth stadium tour, opening Feb. 23 in Mexico City before heading to São Paulo and Buenos Aires. Beck is set to open all six shows, with additional European and North American dates expected to follow.
The tour announcement coincided with “The Greatest Show on Earth,” the third single from U2’s forthcoming 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, due Nov. 13 via Interscope. The track was co-written with longtime collaborator Brian Eno.
