Raiders, Buccaneers, Bengals See Biggest Increase In 2020 NFL Ticket Prices

While the release of the NFL schedule is obviously an annual holiday for the league’s tens of millions of fans around the world, it’s also a very important date for the 32 teams to truly ramp up the process of selling tickets.

Of course everything is tentative with live sporting events being attended by fans as long as there isn’t enough testing or a cure for COVID-19, but it also meant the cancellation of the 2020 international games, which in a twisted silver linings means eight home games for every team. It’ll be a few months before we determine whether and when those games actually happen, but that’s an entire other issue.

After a few days of the sales market being set, ticket search engine site TicketIQ provided some interesting data on how things are shaking out thus far.

Based on the site’s average secondary NFL ticket sales prices seen across the industry, the difference in price for Raiders tickets have gone up an astronomical 527% in their first season after moving from Oakland to Las Vegas. Half of the Raiders’ eight home games will be in primetime to show off brand new Allegiant Stadium to national TV audiences.

Along with the New York Jets and Denver Broncos, young teams that may improve next season, Cincinnati and Tampa Bay are two teams with some serious buzz heading into the fall. The Bengals ride a wave of optimism after drafting Ohio native quarterback Joe Burrow first overall in last month’s draft, while the Buccaneers have never been more popular after signing Tom Brady and trading for Rob Gronkowski.

With Brady no longer a member of the Patriots, ticket prices for New England home games has decreased by 39%, the highest drop in the league. That’s followed by a 22% decrease in Chicago Bears tickets, an 8% drop in Los Angeles Chargers prices and a 2% dip for the Detroit Lions.

Despite the Chargers’ expected move to new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which they’ll share with the L.A. Rams— which saw a 46% increase in average secondary price— the drop in prices could have to do with the dramatic increase in capacity SoFi will have compared to Dignity Health Sports Park. Though the Bolts managed to average 31,750 fans into a stadium with a listed capacity of 27,000, it was the lowest average number in the league by more than 15,000 per game. Cincinnati finished 31st.

But not all the increases in secondary ticket prices are necessarily due to greater interest. When it comes to the Jets, the rise in prices may be due to a lower supply of inventory on the secondary market. In fact, Gang Green has seen a 91% decrease in quantity of available secondary market tickets, per TicketIQ, the largest negative difference in the league.

The Giants, the Jets’ MetLife Stadium neighbors in East Rutherford, N.J., have seen its secondary ticket quantity decrease by 60% since last year. Green Bay, Washington and Pittsburgh round out the top five.

Though a lot of the numbers based on quantity is likely based on the coronavirus, the number of available NFL tickets on the secondary market have been steadily declining for the last several years. And that also is the likely cause in the rise in prices, with the demand still high as the supply thins out.

According to TicketIQ data, the number of tickets on the secondary market has steadily declined and are at its lowest amount, down 84%, since 2013. Perhaps because of this decreased supply, the average ticket is up to $391, a 51.5% increase from the average in 2019.

Las Vegas is also home to the most expensive secondary ticket in the league, per TicketIQ, at nearly $1,100 a pop. Denver, Dallas, Seattle and the New York Giants round out the top five.

But if you want to see a live NFL game for under $300 per tote, there are still 10 teams where you can get that price. That includes the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, where you can get a seat at Arrowhead Stadium for $271. And despite a high demand, the average Buffalo Bills ticket will cost you just $179, the second cheapest in the league. The least expensive ticket you’ll find is in Detroit, where the average secondary ticket is just $142