Tyrese Haliburton sat down with Speedy Mormon of the Boardroom for an unfiltered interview in which the Pacers star discussed his wedding, among other topics. The 26-year-old star married his longtime girlfriend, Jade Jones, in a courthouse wedding in July, followed by a formal wedding on August 1, 2026.
While discussing how he ended up having 50 Cent perform at his wedding, he revealed he had some uncomfortable conversations while looking for artists. Here’s a transcript of his conversation with Mormon about it.
Tyrese Haliburton: “Yeah, it was awesome. It was special. We’ve been able to have a cool relationship for a while because his alcohol is a sponsor for the Pacers. So, I got to know him, and it’s a cool relationship that we have.
“And he was supposed to come to my wedding. He was helping me look for performers for the wedding, because I was thinking if he came and a song of his came on, he would jump on, you know what I mean? So, I was like, ‘Who could we get to perform?”
“And we went to a bunch of different people. He was helping me look for a bunch of different people. Prices are kind of crazy. I was not prepared for that.”
Speedy Mormon: “What are people taking these days for a performance?”
Haliburton: “30 minutes? 750 bands ($750K).”
Mormon: “You’re lying.”
Haliburton: “I swear, bro.”
Mormon: “750?”
Haliburton: “I was shocked, like, that’s not happening; there’s no chance.”
Mormon: “That’s almost a ticket for half an hour.”
Haliburton: “And I said, like, ‘Yo, I’ll pay for all the accommodations. I got you.”
After revealing that Usher and Ne-Yo would’ve been his dream wedding performers but weren’t available at the time, Haliburton circled back to criticize the artists who demanded $750,000 from him.
Tyrese Haliburton: “I ain’t going to say who was trying to whack me $750,000, but there were a few artists that were trying to go there. There was no chance that was going to happen.”
Speedy Mormon: “Did they know it was you?”
Haliburton: “Yeah, they knew it was me. I thought to myself, let me not go the corporate route. I’m going to DM them, hit somebody personally. I had some conversations. I’m not going to say who, but I had a conversation.”
“I was like, ‘We want you to perform.’ They were like, ‘I’m a big fan. I would love to. Next time you’re in town, we can get dinner.’ So, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s love. Like, it’s going to be.’ You know, I’m thinking if they say a number, it ain’t going to be that.”
“He’s like, ‘Here’s my manager’s number. Put him in touch with your manager or something like that.’ So I’m like, bet, it’s over. It’s done.”
Mormon: “You’re like, ‘Babe, I got our guy. Like, here’s who’s performing.”
Haliburton: “Yeah. And then they were like, ‘$750,000.'” So, I hit him. After the manager, my manager told me that.”
“So, I hit him. I said, ‘Hey, man. I can’t do that, but if you want, I can pay for the PJ, accommodations. You good. Like, take care of it completely.’ He left me on read.”
Mormon: “Nah.”
Haliburton: “So, after that, I said, ‘It’s over with. I’ll never—I’m not rocking with.”
Mormon: “I hope you stop listening to this person in your leisure.”
Haliburton: “And you can’t bump him anymore out of respect. Yeah. No, that’s ridiculous. Can’t do it.”
Mormon: “So then, how did 50 get to performing?”
Haliburton: “Yeah. So then, after it got to the point, I was like, ‘Yo, I ain’t even going to do nothing.’ He’s like, “Nah, I’mma do it, bro. Don’t trip.” So then, uh, he and his team, he was like, ‘I’m not going to come to the wedding cuz I want to be a surprise. Don’t tell anybody.'”
“So he was supposed to be a guest. That switched to him coming just to perform, which was pretty cool cause I literally didn’t tell anybody. You know, you have some people getting ready to, like, peel out, and I’m like, ‘Hey, man. If I was you, I was… You might want to wait just a little bit.’
“And then he came in with (Tony) Yayo and (Uncle) Murda and everybody. It was dope.”
Mormon: “Yeah. Did he charge you?”
Haliburton: “No. He didn’t charge me. I took care of his accommodations, everything. And his love is just, that’s like family. So, forever, I got his back forever for that.”
50 Cent performing at Tyrese Haliburton’s wedding pic.twitter.com/zrvVgR8jIR
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) August 2, 2026
So despite entering the third season of a five-year, $244 million extension, Tyrese Haliburton was right not to senselessly throw money at his wedding and get overcharged by a rich person; he was willing to pay for the private jet and accommodations anyway.
The same private jets that even Haliburton refuses to use, preferring to fly commercial to save money. Later in the interview, Tyrese Haliburton also explained why he himself refuses to use private jets despite being a multi-millionaire.
“If I can save some coin, why wouldn’t I? Flying private is a little ridiculous. I see dudes fly private, who I make a lot more money than, and when I was getting these quotes for flying private, I had to call my financial advisor like, ‘Am I missing something?’ I know I make way more than this guy, and he’s flying private every time… I can’t do that every time; it makes me sick,” Haliburton said.
So for artists to expect Haliburton to dish out three-fourths of a million dollars, beyond already offering fully paid private jets and wedding accommodations, is a bit absurd.
Therefore, Haliburton’s wedding experience demonstrated how quickly celebrity appearances can get pricey, even for NBA players with enormous contracts.
The Pacers guard clearly had a limit on performance fees, even though he was willing to pay for private travel and accommodations. Fortunately, Haliburton says he will always cherish the wedding moment that 50 Cent’s choice to perform for him made out of an otherwise frustrating search.
