Will Green Day Say “MAGA” During Their Super Bowl Performance?
By Paul Lebowitz in Entertainment
Published:
- For Super Bowl LX, Green Day is set to perform as the opening act
- The punk-pop band has long been a critic of President Donald J. Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement
- Prediction markets are offering options as to whether Green Day will say “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” in the opening ceremony
Many musicians dive into current events with commentary that sometimes extends to outright changing the lyrics of their songs. Such was the case with Green Day, having added the word “MAGA” to live performances of their song “American Idiot” several times, including at Coachella 2025 and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve from 2023-24. As far back as 2016, they were making their anti-Trump/MAGA sentiments known.
Still, this pending performance is directly connected to the NFL and will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, the site of the Super Bowl itself. With that, the league probably made it clear that it doesn’t want performers to insert controversial edits into their songs. Nor does it want to alienate fans who are either Trump supporters or simply don’t want politics to be interjected in sporting events.
Even with that, Green Day could just do what it wants and adhere to the supposed “punk” movement, rooted in anarchy and pushing back against convention. Given that the NFL epitomizes corporate control, speaking out against it when they were invited to take part would fit right into what Green Day portrays itself as being about.
Prediction markets are debating those twin realities with a cut-and-dried “Yes” or “No” as to what the band will do.
Odds That Green Day Will Say MAGA at the Super Bowl
Prediction markets are currently split 50-50 about Green Day saying “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” when the band takes the stage at Super Bowl LX. At the end of January, the numbers were hovering around 40% that they would say it. Over the past week, that number has fluctuated like a heart rate monitor and settled at around 50%.
This is clearly a “power of the NFL” vs “Green Day makes a statement in front of a global audience” and nobody is sure what will happen with any reasonable degree of certainty.
Trading platforms give users the option to pick a side and profit from a correct prediction. The Kalshi referral code offers new users a $10 Sign Up Bonus after completing $100 in trades.
The rules for making a prediction are specific, and it’s important to understand them beforehand. Any member of Green Day must say “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” during their performance in the opening ceremony of Super Bowl LX for the market to resolve to Yes. The source must be a credentialed news organization such as The New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, and others.
So Will They or Won’t They?
Green Day understands its audience and venues. At Coachella? That crowd is not going to be into MAGA, though their well-to-do families will enjoy the tax cuts. The New Year’s Eve show? Meh. Who cares?
They play the role of being punk, but they’re closer to the Backstreet Boys than they are Henry Rollins.
Even The Sex Pistols were a Malcolm McLaren creation designed to take advantage of an opening in the marketplace.
Throwing a political statement in there once in a while, using profanity, or prancing around onstage wearing little to nothing is all part of what might be a carefully crafted and preplanned act.
But the Super Bowl is a different animal. When signing up to take part in the NFL’s marquee event, there are specific concessions that need to be made. During Trump’s two presidencies, the league has tried to be all things to all people, particularly with issues in which both sides of the aisle are so easily set off. The Colin Kaepernick kneeling controversy created a mess with the president repeatedly posting about it and demanding that players who knelt be fired. The NFL sought to find a happy medium, but not enrage either side to the degree that they would no longer consume the product.
Presumably, the NFL made clear to Green Day that it didn’t want the lyrics to songs changed to ostensibly shame people who label themselves conservative. One of MAGA’s biggest gripes — and it’s legitimate — is that they are automatically categorized in a negative light for having a different political opinion. The term “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” was used by Ronald Reagan when he kicked off his 1980 campaign for president. It’s been bogarted by Trump, but it’s been said for decades as an easy-to-remember slogan.
Making it more difficult for Green Day to continue with its anti-MAGA rants is that a substantial portion of the band’s hardcore fans from 1994 have likely evolved in their political persuasion.
Although it’s absolutely possible that Green Day will go off-script and say “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” in a negative sense to stay true to its brand, the league almost assuredly addressed this beforehand, and they have been told not to. Predicting Yes or No depends on whether you think their “punk” image will take precedence or they will lean into the corporate ideology that they were probably always a part of in the first place.
Based on that, they won’t say it.
Paul Lebowitz is a novelist, columnist, social commentator, and the author of eight published books on baseball – one novel and seven baseball guide/previews. He covers sports, politics, and pop culture. Paul graduated from Hunter College with a degree in English. He lives in New York City.
