U2 will take the field at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 25 as the inaugural headliner for a new NFL Thanksgiving Eve halftime-show tradition. The performance is scheduled for the halftime break in the Los Angeles Rams’ home game against the Green Bay Packers, which is set to kick off at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET and stream on Netflix.
The booking puts one of stadium rock’s most established live acts in a broadcast slot the league and Netflix are positioning as a major annual entertainment event. It also gives the holiday-week game a clearly defined identity beyond the matchup itself: football is the live framework, while the halftime performance is intended as a shared, headline-scale moment for viewers at home.
U2 is hardly new to the demands of an NFL halftime production. The band previously performed at the Super Bowl in February 2002. That history matters because halftime shows operate differently from a conventional concert. They require a performance that can register immediately on television, accommodate a fixed break in a live sporting event, and work for viewers who may have tuned in primarily for football rather than music.
What is confirmed for the Nov. 25 game
- Performer: U2
- Game: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams
- Venue: SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area
- Date: Nov. 25
- Kickoff: 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET
- Streaming home: Netflix
- Production: Jesse Collins Entertainment for Netflix and the NFL
What has not been detailed is just as useful for fans to keep in mind. No setlist, performance length, guests, staging plan, or information about whether the show will include material from the group’s upcoming album has been specified. A halftime billing confirms the act and the event, not the creative particulars. Until those particulars are formally shared, predictions about songs or special appearances remain speculation.
A new calendar space for NFL music programming
The Thanksgiving Eve slot expands an approach already visible in the NFL and Netflix’s Christmas Day programming. Non-Super Bowl halftime shows are increasingly being treated as standalone entertainment attractions rather than merely a brief pause in the game.
In 2024, Beyoncé performed on Christmas Day in the event later known as the “Beyoncé Bowl.” The following Christmas, the presentation billed as Snoop’s Holiday Halftime Party included Snoop Dogg, Lainey Wilson, Huntr/X, and Andrea Bocelli at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Those shows established Christmas as a place where a game broadcast could carry an ambitious music presentation with its own title and audience appeal.
The Nov. 25 show applies that formula to the evening before Thanksgiving. The distinction is more than a matter of scheduling. Thanksgiving Day itself has long been associated with NFL games, while the new event creates a separate appointment immediately ahead of it. In practical terms, it turns the holiday window into a longer run of football-and-entertainment programming rather than concentrating the attention only on Thursday.
No Christmas Day halftime program for 2026 has been announced. That absence should not be read as a decision either way; it simply means the confirmed music event in this part of the NFL calendar is U2’s Thanksgiving Eve appearance.
Why U2 fits the halftime assignment
A halftime show is a compressed form of live production. Unlike a full tour date, it has limited time to establish its visual language, deliver recognizable music, and clear the stage so the sport can resume. The artist therefore needs an instantly legible presence, particularly when the performance is reaching both dedicated fans and casual viewers.
U2’s background makes the band a natural choice for that environment. The group has headlined stadiums for decades and has already navigated the specific pressures of an NFL championship-game halftime show. That does not reveal what the SoFi performance will look or sound like, but it does explain the logic of the booking: the league’s first Thanksgiving Eve act is a band whose scale has repeatedly matched large venues.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos framed the choice around that long-running stadium pedigree, saying U2 creates memorable large-scale performance moments and that the company expects the NFL appearance to be a significant night for football viewers and Netflix members around the world.
For the audience, the result is likely to be a broadcast designed for broad accessibility. That is an observation about the format, not a promise of a particular song selection. The confirmed information does not identify which era of U2’s catalog will be represented, whether the group will lean into familiar favorites, or whether the presentation will be built around new material.
The timing alongside Carnaval De Luz
The NFL performance will arrive shortly after the release of U2’s first album of new material in nine years, Carnaval De Luz. The proximity naturally gives the appearance additional relevance for the band: a widely streamed sporting event can bring a new album into contact with an audience much larger and more varied than the audience for a conventional music launch.
Still, a promotional opportunity is not the same as a confirmed performance plan. There is no confirmation that songs from Carnaval De Luz will appear in the halftime show. Fans interested in the new record should separate the two established facts: the album is due shortly before the NFL appearance, and U2 will perform at halftime. Any link between the record’s tracklist and the game-night set remains unknown.
What the streaming context means
Streaming is central to this event rather than an add-on. The Rams-Packers game, including U2’s halftime appearance, is scheduled to stream on Netflix. That places a live sports broadcast and a major music performance in the same subscription environment, an arrangement that makes the halftime show part of the game package for viewers watching the stream.
For viewers, the most practical detail is the kickoff time. Halftime begins only after the first half of play, so there is no separately confirmed clock time for U2’s performance. Anyone looking to watch the set live should plan around the 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET kickoff rather than expect a precise start time for the musical segment.
The approach also reflects a wider competition around live sports distribution and the value of event programming. Other leagues are pursuing new streaming arrangements too; for example, the Atlanta Hawks’ local Prime Video plan across five states illustrates how sports organizations are continuing to reshape where games are watched. U2’s halftime appearance is not evidence of an identical model, but it does show how a live game can be used as the setting for programming that reaches beyond the action on the field.
What to watch for next
The next meaningful updates would be specifics rather than another confirmation of the booking: a setlist tease, participating guests, the show’s visual concept, or whether Netflix and the NFL give the presentation a formal event title. None of those elements has been announced so far.
For now, the core picture is straightforward. U2 will perform at halftime during Packers-Rams at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 25, the game will stream on Netflix, and the show is the first installment of an NFL Thanksgiving Eve halftime tradition. It is a conspicuous new place on the football calendar for an act with prior Super Bowl halftime experience and an upcoming album arriving after a nine-year gap between new-material releases.
