The Boss Signs on for Super Bowl XLII

The NFL isn't looking to stray from its recently established tradition of booking talent with proven longevity for the Super Bowl halftime show. NBC and the NFL announced during last night's Sunday Night Football broadcast that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will headline the entertainment for the big game game next year.

Springsteen joins Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Paul McCartney, Prince, and the Rolling Stones, as an act whose lack of timeliness is outweighed by the familiarity of its repertoire for the Super Bowl's massive audience. The 2008 broadcast of the halftime show raked in 148 million viewers in the United States alone.

The 2009 Super Bowl will be played in Tampa, Florida, at the Raymond Jones Stadium on February 1 and broadcast on NBC.