Justin Timberlake: my son 'will never play football'

— -- Pop singer Justin Timberlake, speaking Thursday at an NFL news conference to promote his Super Bowl halftime performance, said that his son will never play football.

Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel are the parents of 2-year-old Silas. After jokingly offering to suit up himself Sunday as a wide receiver if the New England Patriots needed him, Timberlake was asked by a reporter if he would "support it if [Silas] wanted to run some routes and get in the NFL."

Timberlake responded: "Uh, he will never play football. No, no."

He added: "I mean, yeah, it's kind of like that thing where my main objective is that he become a great person. And if he wants to get into the arts or sports, then yeah, I would fully support that. I think I can hopefully offer him some advice on what to do and what not to do, so yeah, but right now we're working on our manners. That's a big deal in our house right now. It's like, one thing at a time."

Timberlake's comments come during a time of national conversation about the health and safety of youth football players. Earlier this month, a group of former NFL players teamed up with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to support a parent initiative that advocates for children to avoid football until the age of 14.

Timberlake revealed that only his band, The Tennessee Kids, would join him onstage while dismissing any chance of his former boy band, 'N Sync, or Janet Jackson joining him for the performance.

Timberlake is returning to the halftime show 14 years after the "wardrobe malfunction" with Jackson that caused a national controversy. He was not asked a question about the incident during the press availability. Timberlake was a special guest of Jackson during her performance, when he ripped off a piece of her clothing and revealed her bare, pierced nipple. Jackson later described it as an unintended "wardrobe malfunction."

"We're going to take it seriously that we want everyone to have a ton of fun. That's my main objective with the halftime show," he said.

Timberlake, who turned 37 on Wednesday, will release his new album, "Man of the Woods," on Friday.?

The Associated Press contributed to this report