During a Los Angeles show over the weekend, Adele addressed rumors that the NFL had attempted to recruit her as the 2017 Super Bowl Halftime Show musical act. That’s just about the biggest stage any artist can possibly command, and yet, if she’d actually done it, it would be more like she was doing the NFL a favor than vice versa. That’s how big a deal Adele is right now. Here’s what Adele said about the possibility: “I mean, come on, that show is not about music. And I don’t really — I can’t dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I said no.” But now the NFL begs to differ.

In a statement to Billboard, the NFL and Halftime Show sponsor Pepsi flatly denied that they’d offered the Halftime Show spot to Adele or anyone else:

The NFL and Pepsi are big fans of Adele. We have had conversations with several artists about the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. However, we have not at this point extended a formal offer to Adele or anyone else. We are focused on putting together a fantastic show for Houston and we look forward to revealing that in good time.

The language of that “formal offer” line seems like the key, doesn’t it? In any case, the NFL would be stupid not to offer the Halftime Show to Adele. But then, it’s not like the NFL has any history of twisting the truth, right?