Maroon 5 Donate Entire $500,000 Super Bowl Fee To Children's Charity

If you've ever watched the Super Bowl you'll have noticed one thing, it's about way more than football - trailers dropping, celebrities, of course, the iconic half-time show and charity all come into play when the big day rolls around.

This year Maroon 5 are set to recreate one of the most memorable half-time performances of all time, the Spongebob Squarepants 'Sweet Victory' song from the Nickelodeon series - and if that wasn't surprising enough, they had one more surprise in store.

The band have gone and donated $500,000 (£380,000) - their performance fee - to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America charity.

In an interview with E! The band's front man, Adam Levine, said: "Playing the Super Bowl has been a dream of our band for a long time.

"We thank the NFL for the opportunity and also to them, along with Interscope Records, for making this donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters, which will have a major impact for children across the country."

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America helps children realise their potential and build their futures.

Pam Iorio, the non-profit's President and CEO, told E!: "We believe that all of our nation's youth need someone who believes in their potential, and we are so honored that the NFL, Interscope Records, and Maroon 5 are supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in our important mission."

Maroon 5 will be performing on the big day alongside Travis Scott and Big Boi at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, and after a huge - and utterly bizarre - online petition, received more than a million votes.

The petition came about because of the death of SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg at the end of last year. In the aftermath of his sad passing a Change.org petition was started entitled "Have 'Sweet Victory' Performed at the Super Bowl".

'Sweet Victory' is a song from a 2001 episode of the show in which SpongeBob and his fellow members of the Bikini Bottom Super Band perform at half-time of the 'Bubble Bowl' - yes, they were all seriously real words.

The song was originally licensed by APM Music, who are pretty chuffed a new generation will get to experience the song.

APM's president, Adam Taylor, recently said: "We are truly thrilled that 'Sweet Victory,' a production music song, has crossed over into the mainstream of America's consciousness, and has become an iconic, 'Can-Do,' rock anthem, thanks to the remarkable creativity of the late Stephen Hillenburg and composers David Glen Eisley and Bob Kulick."

Even if you don't enjoy the actual football it may be worth a watch just to really take it all in.