How do people manage to afford watching NFL games ect?

[Deleted]

I follow my local football team. 2 really good tickets will cost me 45 $. In comparison i just tried to buy two tickets for Denver Broncos at mile high. Price 1398 $

How on earth to the manage to sell so many expensive tickets?

[mikeakanice]

www.Stubhub.com

One big reason I can think of off the top of my head is the NFL is only one game a week per team and the regular season only has 16 games per team. That's it for the year. Unless you make the playoffs which is an additional 4 games at best. Unlike soccer, there is no league in the world that comes close to comparing to the talent of the NFL. That's why NFL tickets cost so much.

[BananaHandsB]

Some ppl have more money than others and can afford it? This seems like an obvious question.

[Captain N]

It really depends on location as well - I have two tickets for tomorrow's home opener in Dallas between the Stars and Blackhawks - 10 rows off the glass $185/each. Those very same seats at the United Center in Chicago for the Hawks opener....$855/each

[TheWindWalker]

My dad did what I expect most of them do, which wasn't "have more money" btw, he bought a PSL with a credit card and is probably still paying it off.

[PACOX]

Seeing a game live is 90% about the experience of being there. If you actually want to watch the game you're better off at home or the bar.

[Blueobelisk]

Reasons people have expensive tickets:

1. Most people are stupid and live off debt, which gives them money to buy expensive tickets.
2. People have season tickets and it's their lifestyle to go to games, so it doesn't seem like a high cost.
3. People just have the money. Football only has 8 home games, so...each one is okay.
4. Companies buy tickets for their clients.

[Kujako]

Money can be exchanged for goods and services!

[drwelfare]

Priorities spending they money there instead of on something else (no matter how reasonable/unreasonable) or saving the money.
They spend it there, you spend it on video games, other guy spends it on clothes and shoes

[Spectral]

I'm disinclined to spend that much, but if I really wanted to, I certainly could. My girlfriend and I are in a decent financial position so dropping a couple grand for something we really want isn't that big of a deal. We have decent incomes, but not particularly unusual, I suspect right around the median for someone dropping that on a game.

I've been to football and basketball games with some very, very expensive seats that were purchased by corporations though. A lot of the people sitting in $500+ seats didn't pay for them.

[Utinil]

You mentioned the Denver Broncos. They have the longest* streak of games sold out in professional Football (American). So that means the tickets are in a very high demand. Whenever something has limited availability and a very high demand the price goes up a LOT. The price you gave must be for a prime game and/or very good seats though. I am a season ticket holder but even before I got through the wait list to buy them I would buy tickets to specific games, never payed near that much for tickets.


*Some will claim the Washington Redskins as the longest sellout streak, this is false. The Redskins have the longest sellout streak in the NFL, the Broncos were selling out games since before the NFL - AFL merger and actually goes back further if you count their time in the AFL.

[Deleted]

I've never understood it.

I know a family struggling financially, for example having trouble paying for appliance repairs. Yet the husband goes to the UK several times a year to see football games.

Tickets+accommodation+food+copious amounts of booze=???

Is the "lifestyle" really that great?

[Felya]

Afford? How about being on a waiting list for season tickets for years! I'll pay, they won't let me!

[Zabrinka]

Many of the most expensive sports tickets are paid for by businesses. Theoretically for client development. But also because it's a way for managers to use company money to buy something they personally want and get a tax break.

Although actually I think that happens least with the NFL among American pro team sports. You only get 8 home games a year in the NFL so hard-core fans don't mind spending a lot.

[Rucati]

There are a lot of sites out there that sell tickets cheaper. I know the New England Patriots have a deal where if their season ticket holders can't get to a game they can sell the tickets they have and it's significantly less money, I'd assume a lot of sports teams do the same thing.

Regardless though, even if you figure it's $300 per person for the night (200 for the ticket, 100 for food/etc) that's only $900 for a family of 3 to go. While that isn't an amount a lot of people can just throw at something without thinking, if they prepare for it and put money aside they could easily go to like one game a year.

[Issalice]

Stubhub is terrific, and it totally depends on the opponent your team is playing. When my local team's big rival is in town crappy tickets double in price to about $100 a piece.