Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens was at the apex of his career when he helped his team prevail in Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. However days later he was involved in a street fight that left two other people dead. In the end, he entered a plea in exchange for a misdemeanor charge, though he continued to insist he was not involved. His fifteen days in jail did not affect his career, and he continued to play for the Ravens.

Eugene Robinson was heading into one of the biggest games of his Atlanta Falcons career when, on the eve of Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, he sought out adult companionship. Unfortunately for Robinson, the woman he believed to be a prostitute was an undercover police officer, and he was arrested for solicitation her hours before the game. He was able to take the field, but his reputation and relationships with the Falcons and his family were permanently altered. In an ironic twist, he had been given the Bart Starr Award for outstanding moral character just a few hours before the incident.

For many Arizonan football fans Super Bowl XLIII was a point of pride, as the state’s Cardinals were playing against the Steelers. However many Tucson Comcast customers were instead shocked when, for 30 seconds during the fourth quarter, a graphic adult film was broadcast instead. An investigation ensued over the next several months, with the FBI taking a central role. Frank Gonzalez, an employee of an adult network transmitted from the same Tucson control center as Comcast, was identified as the culprit. His motivations are not clear beyond speculation that he had attempted to use his technical expertise to prank a friend, unknowingly including thousands of other viewers in his action.

In 2004, Janet Jackson and Justin Tiberlake were both at the top of the pop star game and among the top choices when they were picked to headline the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. In just a few seconds though, the performance was launched into infamy when Timberlake exposed Jackson’s breast after unintentionally removing more material from her outfit than intended. The incident led to the FCC receiving thousands of complaints, CBS being fined, and Jackson becoming the target of vitriol. While remorseful, Timberlake was one of the few parties involved to not have suffered from the incident, which itself became a point of controversy.

In 2003, Raiders player Barret Robbins was set to join his team for the 37th Super Bowl when he went missing, leaving both his team and family concerned and confused. He was found wandering the hotel disoriented and was quickly hospitalized. It came to light that Robbins was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and this was neither the first nor last time he would disappear with little to no warning. Struggles with depression and his alleged use of performance enhancing substances led to Robbins distancing himself even further, and he has regularly entered and exited public life.

In 1989, Bengals player Stanley Wilson was set to join his team for the Super Bowl when, the night before, he relapsed and fell back on in his cocaine addiction. This was not the first time his addiction collided with his NFL career. Just a few years prior in 1987, he was suspended for a full season over a similar infraction. Unfortunately for Wilson, this was the final straw for the NFL and he was banned from the league.

Confusion stopped Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 when around half of the lights in the New Orleans Superdrome went out in the middle of the game. For 34 minutes, the game was paused as players and spectators alike waited for the problem to be fixed. Although it was merely a technical malfunction, the blackout led many to concoct conspiracy theories, and was the defining moment of that year’s Super Bowl.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady made headlines after Super Bowl LI for more than his performance. When his jersey suddenly went missing, the ensuing search led to the FBI pouring a surprising amount of resources into locating it. Ultimately it was found to be in the possession of Martin Mauricio Ortega in Mexico. Ortega was a newspaper director who used his press credentials to put him in a position to acquire the jersey, and after a Super Bowl XLIX jersey also found in his possession, this was not his first time doing so.

During Kendrick Lamar’s red, white, and blue halftime show at Super Bowl LIX in 2025, one dancer held up a Palestinian flag that had the words “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on it. The individual with the flag was “part of the 400-member field cast,” according to a statement issued by the NFL, but,

The individual hid the item on his possession and unveiled it late in the show… No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.

References to Sudan and Gaza were aimed at ongoing conflicts across the globe and the dancer was immediately subdued and removed from the field. President Donald Trump was present at the Super Bowl, the first sitting president to attend the event, but there was no comment from the White House about the event.

The dancer, for his part, was banned from all NFL events and stadiums for life as a result of the incident. He will not face criminal charges, however.

Beyonce fans were elated to see her perform at the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show. Unfortunately Beyonce herself apparently was not entirely content with how she looked during the performance. It came to light that after the Super Bowl, her publicity team attempted to scrub stills of her deemed incompatible with her curated image. Getty Images and Buzzfeed were among those contacted to this end, but the endeavor was in vain as the images can still be found online.

In 2012, Sri Lankan singer M.I.A. performed on stage at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show alongside Madonna when the former flipped off the camera. While the FCC did not fine anyone in spite of several hundred complaints, the NFL did fine M.I.A. for $15.1 million on account of the singer violating their standards. Despite this enormous sum, M.I.A. took the situation in stride and even jokingly tweeted Madonna for financial help. She and the league ultimately settled in 2014.

The New York Jets had yet to prove themselves when they were set against the Baltimore Colts for the third Super Bowl in 1969. Jets player Joe Namath, in what many regarded as poor taste, predicted in an interview that his team would prevail over the Colts. As the latter team had been performing excellently and Namath’s own knees were not in the best shape, there was no shortage of criticism directed at Namath’s confidence. In spite of the odds and mass-doubt cast on his prediction, Namath’s team did indeed win that year.