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NFL ticket price trends are predictably unpredictable.
To be clear, I’m referring to the secondary ticket market.
That is to say, face value prices are set by the team prior to the season and remain constant for the duration.
By contrast, NFL ticket resale prices are as unstable as the stock market. As a result, ticket costs can fluctuate weekly, and even daily.
NFL ticket price fluctuations
So, what causes single-game price volatility?
Game factors
Here are some of the common factors that can influence ticket prices:
- Opponent – Typical fans are more interested in a game if their team is playing against a divisional foe, traditional rival, or the Super Bowl champs. Additionally, you have teams – the Steelers, for example – with large traveling fan bases. These fans can significantly affect ticket demand at road venues, resulting in higher prices.
- Time of year – Secondary market prices are traditionally higher for Week 1 games and home openers.
- Team success/expectations – To put it plainly, who wants to see a 1-9 team? As for the fans buying tickets in August, well, it’s all about the hype (see: New York Jets).
More on what determines NFL ticket prices.
Ticket brokers
I can’t say this enough – sports ticket brokers are not created equal. Indeed, you can have substantial variations in ticket price amongst brokers for the same game, same seat.
Read: How Much Can I Save on NFL Tickets?
NFL ticket price trends for Week 3
Trending up
- Detroit Lions – The average cheapest resale price for a ticket to the Falcons-Lions game in Week 3 is $231.25, as of this writing. This is notably higher than their most expensive home contest last season ($124, Week 12), when their overall average price was $72.
- NY Jets – The average cheapest price ($186.45) for their Week 3 matchup with the Patriots is 86% above their 2022 high. In fact, that game against yes, the Patriots, marked the only time they surpassed $100 last season.
- Las Vegas Raiders – Just what you’d expect from a team with a $355 average price (2022) for their cheapest tickets. Well hold onto your butts – the average cheap seat cost for their Week 3 game with Pittsburgh is $621, $12 more than last season’s apex.
Notable notes
Parking pass blues
The Jaguars and the Browns continue their huge game ticket-parking pass price difference. Last season, the average cheapest parking pass for a Jags game ($131) was 82% more than the average cheapest seat. For the Browns, it was $191 (parking)/$91 (tickets), a difference of 110%.
Here are their prices for Week 3:
- Jacksonville – $86 average parking, $37 average ticket (+132%).
- Cleveland – $159 average parking, $72 average ticket (+121%).
Championship inflation
Alas, Chiefs fans will need raises to combat the higher secondary market price increases:
- Average cheapest seat, Week 1 (as of 8/3): $404.76.
- Average cheapest seat, Week 3 (as of 9/9): $301.54.
Notably, the combined cheap seat average for 2021-2022 was $190.
NFL ticket price trends conclusion
In addition to the upward price trends mentioned earlier, there’s one more notable pattern emerging.
I’m referring to standard deviation, which is simply a measure of the amount of variation in a data set. Significantly, when it comes to NFL ticket prices, it means there are more notable price differences across all ticket sites & games.
| Game | Average Price | Lowest Price | Highest Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY Giants at San Francisco | $133.99 | $106.94 | $157.20 |
| Tennessee at Cleveland | $71.82 | $60.00 | $84.70 |
| Atlanta at Detroit | $231.25 | $200.00 | $275.10 |
| New Orleans at Green Bay | $216.18 | $164.95 | $246.00 |
| Denver at Miami | $146.55 | $117.51 | $180.00 |
| LA Chargers at Minnesota | $111.42 | $101.65 | $125.76 |
| New England at NY Jets | $186.45 | $166.43 | $207.00 |
| Buffalo at Washington | $213.80 | $179.00 | $244.97 |
| Houston at Jacksonville | $36.63 | $32.00 | $40.00 |
| Indianapolis at Baltimore | $83.31 | $72.00 | $96.95 |
| Carolina at Seattle | $137.86 | $121.95 | $155.00 |
| Chicago at Kansas City | $301.54 | $273.51 | $338.00 |
| Dallas at Arizona | $214.59 | $177.00 | $251.52 |
| Pittsburgh at Las Vegas | $620.60 | $547.00 | $695.60 |
| Philadelphia at Tampa Bay | $284.39 | $250.00 | $328.80 |
| LA Rams at Cincinnati | $200.71 | $177.00 | $229.00 |
The average standard deviation for the listed prices of 11 ticket sites for all Week 3 games is 19.7, compared to 14.2 for all of 2022. Markedly, the average for the first 4 weeks of this season is 17.8
While the difference may seem small, the result is that there are larger discrepancies in price between the cheapest & most expensive tickets. Translation: there’s more opportunities to save.
Take the Pittsburgh-Las Vegas game, for instance. While one ticket site’s cheapest listing price was $695, another site offered the same (or similar) seats for $547, a whopping difference of $248.
And while no other Week 3 game comes close to that number, there are still several others that offer significant potential savings:
- New Orleans at Green Bay, $81
- Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, $79
- Atlanta at Detroit, $75
- Dallas at Arizona, $74
Indeed, $81 per ticket = $162 for two, $324 for four, … you get the idea.
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