NFL Wants $16.6 Million from M.I.A. for Super Bowl ‘Middle Finger’ Stunt

M.I.A. has been slapped with a $16.6 million bill as a result of her Super Bowl Halftime performance alongside Madonna in 2012.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the league has spent two years trying to get M.I.A. to pay $1.5 million, since her gesture was a “flagrant disregard for the values that form the cornerstone of the NFL brand and the Super Bowl.”

The NFL also claims that the singer breached a pre-show agreement which states that the performers will maintain the league’s “reputation for wholesomeness.”

The rest of the $15.1 million they’re asking for is because it views the money as restitution based on the value of M.I.A.’s exposure since her appearance. Which means that the NFL is charging M.I.A. an amount equal to what an advertiser would have paid for the airtime.

In her defense, M.I.A. has pointed to the lack of ‘wholesomeness” in other halftime shows, including those of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince. Her lawyers say, “The claim for restitution lacks any basis in law, fact, or logic.” They also claim that “the continued pursuit of this proceeding is transparently an exercise by NFL intended solely to bully and make an example of Respondents for daring to challenge NFL.”

@madonna ummm ….. can i borrow 16 million ?

— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) March 17, 2014

M.I.A. also tweeted documents she received. Check them out below.

$16.6 million dollars? That’s an expensive a$$ middle finger!