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A group of Houston Texans season ticket holders has filed a lawsuit against the team. The permanent seat license (PSL) holders are accusing the Texans of fraud, conspiracy, breach of contract, discriminatory ticket pricing, and market manipulation.
According to the lawsuit filed by Houston law firm Callender Bowlin PLC on behalf of 19 PSL holders, the Houston Texans unfairly priced season tickets for permanent seat license holders. They claim that the team has been raising the price of tickets for PSL holders in an attempt to get them to give up their licenses, so the team can sell or resell the tickets themselves, the Houston Business Journal reports.
“It has become clear that the Texans are actively attempting to restrict the free market and eliminate competition so that they can charge more for 8 tickets on the secondary ticket market, leaving Texans fans who purchase tickets paying more,” the lawsuit claims. “Once the Texans effectively overprice the Plaintiffs’ season ticket prices, they can reclaim the PSLs’ ownership and sell them with their preferred ticket resale partner on the secondary ticket market at inflated prices to increase profits to the team, all of which comes at the expense of free markets and the fans who purchase tickets today.”
The plaintiffs claim that the Houston Texans began this practice after the team began winning during the 2023 season. They claim they were charged up to 15% more for season tickets compared to other similar PSL holders.
“When times were tough, as they have often been for the Texans, team executives relied on (the) plaintiffs and continuously encouraged them to purchase more tickets, which increased the Texans’ bottom line and helped fill seats at NRG Stadium,” the lawsuit reads. “Now that the Texans are a playoff-caliber team, they have abandoned these once-valued relationships with individuals they viewed as partners.”
The season ticket holders are seeking at least $1 million in damages, which could be tripled if the Texans are found to have violated the Texas Free Enterprise Act of 1983.
“This outrageous and unacceptable behavior doesn’t just harm the Plaintiffs — it harms hundreds of thousands of Texans’ fans, and every sports fan in Texas who wants to attend an NFL game at NRG Stadium,” Callender Bowlin co-founder Josh Bowlin said in a news release. “There’s no way around it — less competition leads to higher prices.”
The Houston Texans wrote in a statement that the team was “recently made aware of a lawsuit filed by certain ticket resellers. We believe these allegations are meritless and look forward to addressing them appropriately.”