SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The NFL is adding a hometown jolt to Super Bowl LX, tapping Bay Area punk-rock icons Green Day to headline a new opening ceremony designed to celebrate 60 years of Super Bowl history and honor past Most Valuable Players.
The league announced that Green Day — Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — will perform ahead of kickoff at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, as part of a ceremony that will help “usher generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field.”
For Green Day, it’s not just another massive stage — it’s a home-field moment. The band formed in the East Bay and has stayed closely tied to Northern California for decades, making the Super Bowl’s return to the region a natural fit for a legacy-themed opening.
When the opening ceremony airs
According to the NFL, the opening ceremony is scheduled to air live at 3 p.m. Pacific (that’s 5 p.m. Central) on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and Universo. ESPN’s report lists the ceremony at 6 p.m. Eastern, which matches the NFL’s 3 p.m. Pacific start time.
The league says the Green Day segment will take place ahead of the previously announced pregame entertainment, which includes:
Charlie Puth performing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile singing “America the Beautiful,” and Coco Jones delivering “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
What the NFL is planning for Super Bowl LX
Super Bowl LX is being framed as more than a game broadcast — it’s a milestone show. The opening ceremony is intended to spotlight the league’s history through the people who defined it, with MVPs from different eras featured as part of the on-field presentation.
In the NFL’s announcement, Tim Tubito, the league’s senior director of event and game presentation, described the ceremony as a “powerful way to kick off” the 60th Super Bowl, emphasizing the collaboration with NBC Sports to create a shared moment for fans in the stadium and watching worldwide.
Why Green Day is a headline-grabbing choice
Super Bowl opening ceremonies often lean into pageantry — marching bands, flyovers, tributes — but bringing in Green Day signals something else: energy. The band is known for turning arenas into loud, sing-along chaos, and the NFL says the trio is expected to perform “a selection of their best-known anthems” as part of the tribute.
Armstrong, in a statement included in reports, said the group is “super hyped” to open the event in their “backyard” and honored to welcome the MVPs who shaped the game.
The setting also matters. Levi’s Stadium last hosted the Super Bowl in 2016, and the return to Santa Clara brings an obvious local storyline — a global sports stage landing in Northern California again, with a Northern California band tasked with lighting the fuse.
How the opening ceremony fits into the Super Bowl entertainment lineup
Green Day’s appearance is separate from — and earlier than — the traditional high-profile moments that casual viewers usually tune in for, like the national anthem and the halftime show. The NFL has positioned this as a distinct segment: an anniversary kickoff that sets the tone for the entire broadcast before the on-field action begins.
News coverage around the announcement has also pointed to a broader entertainment plan for Super Bowl week, with multiple events across the Bay Area in the days leading up to the game. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the band is also scheduled to headline a separate Super Bowl-week event alongside Counting Crows on Feb. 6.
What viewers should watch for on game day
For fans who usually tune in right at kickoff, the NFL is effectively making a pitch: show up early. The opening ceremony is scheduled hours before the game itself, and it’s designed to function like a curtain-raiser — part concert, part NFL history reel, part live tribute that should look and feel different from a typical pregame show.
If the league delivers what it’s promising, expect the camera to linger on MVPs from different eras, the stadium atmosphere building in real time, and Green Day providing the soundtrack as the field fills up with football royalty.
And in a Super Bowl that’s already being marketed around its 60th anniversary, the opener may be the NFL’s way of telling viewers: this isn’t just the biggest game of the year — it’s a landmark moment.
