The Super Bowl halftime show was a mixture of respectability and reckoning

Spectacle first became tradition at the NFL's halftime show in 1993, when Michael Jackson was asked to headline. Before his twelve minutes of grandeur and intensity that year, early Super Bowl halftime shows were similar to college football halftime events — marching bands and local talent. The League noticed a missed opportunity when Fox aired an In Living Color special during 1992's halftime and captured millions of viewers. They asked Jackson to help with the halftime rebrand, and the only tradition that was maintained from years prior to his was that he was not paid for the performance, only expenses and the cost of realizing his vision would be covered. He and his management contested this and were denied, though the NFL made a small concession, agreeing to donate $100,000 to the artist's Heal the World Foundation, The New in 2009. The tacit idea was that even the man glorified as the "King of Pop" needed to be paid in exposure and perform prestige events once in a while to remain relevant.