NFL Teams With the Most Expensive Tickets

Sports

Published: July 8, 2024 8:50 am

Last Updated: July 8, 2024 8:51 am

Of all major, professional sports leagues in the United States, the National Football League is by far the most popular. Nielsen ratings show that 93 of the 100 most watched television broadcasts in 2023 were NFL games, including each of the top 20. Over the course of the 18 week regular season, and the three additional weeks of playoff games as well as the Super Bowl, the NFL made an estimated $12 billion in revenue in 2022 — a figure that the league's commissioner, Roger Goodell, is aiming to double by 2027.

The bulk of the NFL's annual revenue comes from lucrative broadcasting deals. According to the most recent available estimates, television networks and streaming services each pay anywhere from $1 billion to $2.7 billion every year for media rights. TV deals, as well as merchandising and licensing contracts, are negotiated by the NFL, and the revenue they generate is divided equally among the league's 32 teams. Meanwhile, most revenue raised at the local-level is kept by the teams themselves — and ticket sales are among the most important sources of local funding. (Here is a look at America's most valuable sports teams.)

The average NFL stadium has a 70,500 person capacity, and over the course of a season, the total volume of home-game ticket sales ranges from about 500,000 to 750,000, depending on the team. Exactly how much money a team raises through ticket sales depends on two factors — game attendance and ticket prices. Given the NFL's popularity, most teams have little trouble filling their stadiums to at least 90% capacity for a given game. And while the average NFL ticket sold for $121 in 2023, prices can vary considerably from team to team.

Using data from the 2023 NFL Team Marketing Report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the teams with the most, and least expensive tickets. Depending on the team, average ticket prices for the 2023 regular season range from less than $100 to nearly $170.

NFL ticket prices are largely determined by supply and demand. Popular teams, teams that have had a recent playoff or championship appearance, or teams with a marquee player on their roster, will typically draw more fans to the stadium — and higher demand for tickets ultimately drives up prices. (Here is a look at the most popular football teams according to Baby Boomers.)

Other factors that contribute to variations in ticket prices between teams include time and date of the game, a stadium's amenities. Games aired during prime-time national broadcasts are typically more expensive to attend. Additionally, teams playing in newer, state-of-the-art stadiums will also often have higher than average ticket prices.

Why It Matters

The NFL is the most popular professional sports league in the United States, and, from a revenue perspective, one of the most successful leagues in the world. While each of the 32 NFL teams benefit equally from national sources of revenue, like broadcasting contracts with media companies, they also generate millions of dollars every year in ticket sales. Teams can only charge as much as fans are willing to pay, however, and some teams are profiting far more from their fans than others.