Fact Check: Patrick Mahomes Did Not Threaten to Boycott Super Bowl Over Bad Bunny Performance

A fabricated claim circulating widely on social media suggesting Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes would boycott the 2026 Super Bowl over Bad Bunny’s halftime performance has been definitively debunked. Despite receiving hundreds of thousands of shares across multiple platforms, the viral story has no basis in fact.

The false narrative claimed the three-time Super Bowl MVP had declared he would skip the championship game if organizers allowed the Puerto Rican superstar to perform, allegedly stating he would instead join Turning Point USA to honor its co-founder Charlie Kirk, who was reportedly shot and killed in September 2025.

“I’m an American — I’d rather be part of something All-American than the NFL’s circus,” the quarterback was falsely quoted as saying.

An extensive search across multiple search engines found no credible news outlets, sports media, or official statements from Mahomes or the Chiefs organization corroborating these claims. The NFL, Apple Music, and Roc Nation have officially announced Bad Bunny as the headline performer for the February 8, 2026, halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The fabricated story appears to have originated from Facebook pages with suspicious characteristics. According to Facebook’s transparency data, the primary source of the claim—a page called “Sunday at Arrowhead”—is managed by individuals based in Vietnam. This page is part of a larger network of similar accounts that regularly post sensationalized, false stories about celebrities and athletes supposedly making controversial political statements.

These operations typically follow a similar pattern: eye-catching memes featuring fabricated quotes are posted to Facebook, with links in the comments directing users to ad-filled websites. The articles on these sites often display telltale signs of being artificially generated, including awkwardly structured conclusions and professional formatting that would be unusually time-consuming for foreign-based content farms to produce manually.

A related false claim circulating on other Facebook pages alleged Mahomes intended to boycott the Super Bowl because of “Bad Bunny’s LGBT image,” even including the entirely fabricated quote: “That man makes me sick. I can’t believe the league would even consider him. He’s nothing but a dog, and it’s disgraceful.”

The second variation of the story, spread by a page called “KC Loud & Proud”—also managed from Vietnam according to Facebook data—featured inflammatory imagery including rainbow Pride flags alongside claims that players were threatening to quit and fans were demanding “an American artist.” This claim ignores the fact that Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny’s birthplace, is a U.S. territory.

These fabrications appear designed specifically to exploit political and cultural divisions among American audiences, driving engagement and directing traffic to advertisement-laden websites for profit.

Turning Point USA has announced plans for what it calls “The All American Halftime Show,” described as a celebration of “faith, family and freedom,” but there is no indication Mahomes has expressed support for or involvement with this alternative event.

This is not the first time Mahomes has been the subject of false claims. Similar fabricated quotes and stories about the Chiefs quarterback have regularly circulated online, particularly those attempting to position him within various political controversies.

As the 2026 Super Bowl approaches, fans should remain skeptical of inflammatory claims about athletes making polarizing statements, especially when such reports lack verification from credible sports journalism sources or official statements from the individuals involved.