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To say the Super Bowl is America’s biggest sporting event is an understatement. Depending on who’s playing, many football fans would gleefully give up a limb or their firstborn child to see the big game live and in the flesh.
However, it wasn’t always like this.
Read on to learn more about Super Bowl prices over the years, how we got here, and what you can do to save (a little bit) of money if you’re planning on grabbing seats for yourself.
Historical Overview of Super Bowl Ticket Prices
Believe it or not, there was a time when the Super Bowl just wasn’t a big deal (blasphemy). While football started to gain traction by the time the first Super Bowl happened (or the AFL-NFL World Championship Game back then), it wasn’t the production it is today. Tickets to the first Super Bowl were only $12 (or $106 if you adjust for inflation).
You read that right. For the price of your favorite fast-food meal combo, you could have gone to the Super Bowl in the 70s. Talk about being born in the wrong generation.
It wouldn’t be until the late-’80s that football fans would see the price of Super Bowl tickets surpass $100, meaning there was a good nearly 20-year run where you could have gone to the Super Bowl every year for less than a Benjamin. If you adjust that for inflation, the tickets would still be roughly $250 today – nothing compared to what has been in recent years.
One of the reasons Super Bowl tickets began to skyrocket was the inclusion of A-list talent during the halftime show. Before the Super Bowl half-time performance was synonymous with names like Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna, they usually consisted of marching bands and Disney characters.
Would you be willing to give up a glamorous half-time show to be able to go to the Super Bowl in person?
It goes downhill in the ’90s. In 1995, the average ticket price for Super Bowl tickets would double to a whopping $200 before doubling again by 2002.
In 2009, the average price of a Super Bowl ticket broke the $1,000 mark and continued to jump by thousands as the years went by. Between 2015 and 2018, Super Bowl ticket prices jumped from $1,500 to $8,837 for tickets to Super Bowl LII.
Most recently, Super Bowl LVII tickets went for an average of $6,800, depending on where you bought them. While that is a slight drop from previous seasons, it’s still nothing like the early days of the sport.
Factors Influencing Super Bowl Ticket Prices
The Super Bowl is more than just a sporting event at this point; for many Americans and sports fanatics, it’s a tradition. The Super Bowl’s status as a cultural phenomenon transcends the boundaries of sports and attracts die-hard fans, casual viewers, and even A-list celebrities. The Super Bowl has become a must-see spectacle, drawing viewers from all over the world. If that isn’t a good enough answer to why these tickets are so expensive, let us break it down for you below.
1. High Demand
With millions (yes, millions) of football enthusiasts foaming at the mouth to witness the showdown of the season, the demand for Super Bowl tickets far exceeds the limited supply available. The NFL controls how many tickets go to the teams, sponsors, media, and other stakeholders, which leaves only a fraction of the stadium’s seats available to the public. As a result, the scarcity of these sacred Super Bowl tickets creates a wide supply and demand gap, inevitably leading to absurd prices in the secondary market.
2. Limited Supply
As sprawling as they are, even the largest stadiums can only accommodate a limited number of attendees. The logistics of hosting the Super Bowl in a specific stadium contribute to the limited supply of tickets, and the NFL must also reserve a significant number of seats for team players, coaching staff, and league officials.
In fact, the NFL gives roughly 75% of the available tickets to the teams. That means the media, partners, sponsors, and the general public get to fight over the leftover seating. Because the event is so far in advance, many ticket brokers buy up most of the remaining tickets, hence the big hike in price.
Up until 2017, here’s how the NFL distributes its share of tickets:
- Super Bowl teams – 35%
- The other 29 NFL teams – 34.8%
- Host teams – 5%
After 2017, the league announced they would take 6,000 tickets away from Super Bowl teams and pour them into the NFL On Location Experience. The NFL On Location Experience is a concierge service that will, you guessed it, mark up Super Bowl packages well above their face value and resell them.
3. Exclusivity and Prestige
Finally, going to the Super Bowl is the be-all, end-all VIP experience of the sporting world. For many fans, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of a historic event that showcases the best of American sports and entertainment on a grand stage. Naturally, this prestige adds to the allure of the event.
It’s not just a football game; it’s a legendary event where sports, music, and entertainment converge into an unforgettable spectacle. The bragging rights and memories of being at such an iconic event make it worth every penny for many.
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Additional Factors that Impact Super Bowl Ticket Costs
Team Performance and Matchup
Who winds up at the Super Bowl influences how much tickets cost. Any team that does particularly well during a season will be in the news cycle, meaning more eyes on the players and increased popularity and demand (take Joe Burrow, for example).
If that team happens to have Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady on board, then you can count on an even bigger upcharge. Naturally, if a team’s or player’s fandom is particularly passionate, those tickets are going to be in higher demand.
As amazing as it might be to see Brady in the flesh, having a couple of teams with no-name players for once might relieve some pressure off our wallets.
The Ticket Seller
If you plan on shelling out the money to see the Super Bowl this time around, be careful when choosing which platform to buy your tickets from. Ticketmaster, the official NFL ticket seller, typically offers Super Bowl tickets at face value (as ridiculous as that value is). However, due to the limited supply and millions of football fans logging on at once to hopefully grab one for themselves, it’s challenging to secure tickets through the official sale.
As a result, this forces fans to turn to secondary marketplaces like StubHub and SeatGeek, where prices fluctuate based on supply and demand throughout the days leading up to the big game. Secondary market prices can soar well above face value, so have your clicking finger trained and your payment methods handy on sale day.
Seat Selection
As you probably already know, if the seats suck, then they’re likely going to be much cheaper. Unfortunately, even sucky seats at the Super Bowl go for the price of a used car.
Here’s the breakdown if you’re new: nose bleeds, high up in the stadium, are typically more affordable and provide you with a panoramic view of the field, if that’s your thing. Mid-section seats strike a balance between view quality and cost. Close-up spots offer an immersive (and experience) due to their proximity to the players and the field. Premium club seats or suites, located in prime viewing areas with exclusive amenities, are the most expensive.
Conclusion
The Super Bowl is the biggest event of the year when it comes to American sports. For many football fans, it’s a chance to watch their favorite teams, and players become a part of the sport’s prestigious history.
However, if you want to see the game for yourself in the flesh, it’ll cost you a pretty penny. While watching out for official ticket sales and opting for the nose-bleeds might help you cut down on costs, you will still probably wind up selling your kidney or taking out a loan to see your favorite players in action.
Inflation is a cruel mistress, as we witnessed throughout the timeline of Super Bowl ticket prices over the years.
If anyone manages to finish building their time machine, give us a ring, would ya?
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