NFL Teams With Plunging Ticket Prices

November 13, 2013 by Mike Sauter

186918094As the NFL season moves past the halfway point, most teams have already established themselves as either a playoff contender or an also-ran. Those teams that are winning games are generating excitement among their fans, and demand for tickets is rising. Meanwhile, many of those teams that are likely to be on the outside looking in once the playoffs begin are seeing demand and prices for tickets drop dramatically.

Secondary market ticket resource TiqIQ provided 24/7 Wall St. with the average ticket price for each NFL team at the beginning of the season and the average ticket price after 10 weeks of play. While most teams’ ticket prices have declined, ticket prices of some teams have just plummeted. In Tampa Bay, which won its first game on Monday, the average price fell from $161 in week one to just $98 last week, a nearly 40% decrease. Based on data provided by online ticket resource TiqIQ, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 NFL teams with the biggest decline in ticket prices this season.

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The average ticket prices of all but five NFL teams have dropped over the first 10 weeks of the 2013 season, but this does not mean people have lost interest in the NFL. TiqIQ’s Jesse Lawrence explained, “The norm is that ticket market gravity is always down. The nature of the beast is that brokers list high early, and then as the event gets closer, prices go down.” However, any team with more than a 10% decline in prices is likely experiencing a real decline in interest, Lawrence said.

According to Lawrence, the biggest factor behind major changes in ticket prices is whether a team exceeds expectations or fails to live up to them. The team with the biggest increase in ticket prices — from $115 at the start of the season to $173 last week, a more than 50% increase — is the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are one of the most surprisingly good teams in recent memory. After earning the worst record in the NFL with just two wins last season, the team is currently undefeated in its first nine games.

Many of the teams with the biggest ticket price declines have failed to meet expectations. The Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons were picked by many to be Super Bowl contenders before the start of the season. Green Bay isn’t even in a playoff spot at the moment, and Atlanta has won just two games.

Other teams with declining ticket prices did not necessarily have high expectations going into the season, but they have eliminated any hope that they might surprise and be better than anticipated. Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, and St. Louis all had losing records last season. This season, they have a combined record of just 6-20.

Nearly every team with the biggest decline in ticket prices has a disappointing record so far this season. The one exception is the New England Patriots. While the Patriots have only lost two games this year, they won only their last game in a convincing fashion. Lawrence explained that this may have something to do with the city’s recent World Series victory. “I think that Boston fans spent a lot of money on Red Sox tickets so they may be a little less willing to shell out 300 bucks or 400 bucks on Patriots tickets,” Lawrence said. “There’s only so many dollars that fans can spend on disposable ticketing events and the Red Sox definitely soaked up a lot of that.”

To identify the teams with the biggest decline in ticket prices, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average ticket price for each NFL team just before the season started, and then the average ticket price as of week 10. The teams with the biggest percentage decline in average price over this time made our list. All ticket price data were provided by TiqIQ. Additional statistics, including win-loss records, attendance statistics, injuries and player performance, came from ESPN.com, NFL.com and pro-football-reference.com.

10. New York Jets
> Pct. decline: 18.0%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $228 (11th highest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $187 (13th highest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 6-10 (tied for 8th worst)
> Current win-loss record: 5-4 (tied for 11th best)

After losing 10 games during the 2012 season, the Jets hoped to rebound this season. However, the Jets’ veteran QB Mark Sanchez was injured in the preseason, and after finally opting for surgery on his shoulder, he will sit for the rest of the year. It looked like Geno Smith, Sanchez’s rookie replacement, was far from ready, throwing only four touchdowns and eight interceptions in his first four games. However, despite Smith’s inconsistent play, the Jets have managed a decent 5-4 record, putting them squarely in the wild card hunt.

9. San Diego Chargers
> Pct. decline: 19.3%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $187 (15th highest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $151 (16th lowest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 7-9 (tied for 11th worst)
> Current win-loss record: 4-5 (tied for 12th worst)

San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers, who has been subpar for the past several seasons, is having a good year. Rivers, who is in his eighth season starting for San Diego, has a completion rate over 70% so far this season, his career best. He has already had three 400+ yard games this season, one shy of the NFL-record four games held by Dan Marino. The team’s often-suspect defense has also shown promise this year, particularly the front seven. However, the Chargers’ failure to overcome the Broncos on Sunday, added to the team’s series of close losses, bring their record to 4-5.

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8. Atlanta Falcons
> Pct. decline: 20.0%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $150 (11th lowest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $120 (10th lowest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 13-3 (tied for the best)
> Current win-loss record: 2-7 (tied for 3rd worst)

By most accounts, Atlanta has been the most disappointing team in the NFL this season. Last year, the Falcons had the best record in the NFL, losing just three games. This year, they have already lost seven of their first nine games. The team’s only victories have been against lowly Tampa Bay and St. Louis. The team has also suffered through injuries. Starting receiver Roddy White has played only six games and has not yet caught a touchdown. The team’s other top receiver, Julio Jones, had a great start to the year before a season-ending foot injury. The defense has also been poor, allowing 27.9 points per game, the fourth-worst in the NFL, and nearly 10 points more per game than last year.

7. Philadelphia Eagles
> Pct. decline: 20.5%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $215 (13th highest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $171 (15th highest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 4-12 (tied for 3rd worst)
> Current win-loss record: 5-5 (15th best)

The Eagles entered this season for the first time in 15 years without long-time head coach Andy Reid, who now coaches the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles’ new coach, Chip Kelly, is helming an NFL team for the first time this year. Also, the Eagles’ QB since 2009, NFL veteran Michael Vick, has an injured hamstring and will likely miss the next week or two. His replacement, Nick Foles, has shown promise, throwing seven touchdowns last week, tying an NFL record. The Eagles have won half their games this season, but they are on a 10-game losing streak at home.

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6. New England Patriots
> Pct. decline: 21.7%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $382 (2nd highest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $299 (4th highest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 12-4 (tied for 3rd best)
> Current win-loss record: 7-2 (tied for 4th best)

Of the teams with the biggest decline in ticket prices, the Patriots easily have the best record, losing just two of their first nine games after starting the season 4-0. However, few teams have looked more shaky while winning four games straight. New England won many of these sloppily and against subpar teams (three of those four teams have a combined record of 5-22). Tom Brady has not looked like himself for most of the season, completing just 57.1% of his passes through the first 10 weeks, 27th among starting quarterbacks. This may be at least in part because the team has played large parts of the season without many of its key offensive players, including recently acquired receiver Danny Amendola and star tight end Rob Gronkowski. After last week’s convincing win over the Steelers, the once-dominant offense may have finally returned to form.

5. Green Bay Packers
> Pct. decline: 23.2%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $285 (5th highest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $219 (11th highest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 11-5 (tied for 6th best)
> Current win-loss record: 5-4 (tied for 11th best)

One of the NFL’s dominant teams for the past few seasons, the Packers have had at least a 10-6 record since 2009. After this week’s embarrassing loss to the Eagles, the team stands at just 5-4, currently out of even a wild card position. Perhaps more so than any other team, Green Bay has been decimated by injuries. Starting tight end Jermichael Finley is out for the season, and wide receiver Randall Cobb will not be able to return until nearly the end of the season. Multiple starting defensive players have been injured as well. Most notably, starting QB Aaron Rodgers injured his shoulder in week nine. His backup, Seneca Wallace, was himself injured on the first drive of his first full game replacing Rodgers. The Packers will start third-string QB Scott Tolzien next week.

4. St. Louis Rams
> Pct. decline: 24.3%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $140 (9th lowest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $106 (6th lowest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 7-8 (16th worst)
> Current win-loss record: 4-6 (11th worst)

The Rams have not had a winning record since 2003. The Edward Jones Dome had one of the lowest average attendance rates in the NFL last year. This season, the number of attendees has decreased even more. Currently, St. Louis is two losses shy of another season below .500, winning just four games out of 10 so far. However, the Rams’ decisive victory over the Colts this past Sunday may be promising for St. Louis. Kellen Clemens, filling in for injured starting QB Sam Bradford, had one of the best games of his career, and receiver Tavon Austin, a rookie, had more than 300 all-purpose yards.

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3. Jacksonville Jaguars
> Pct. decline: 34.7%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $95 (the lowest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $62 (the lowest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 2-14 (tied for the worst)
> Current win-loss record: 1-8 (tied for the worst)

The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have never won a championship, just won their first game of the season when they played the Titans Sunday. Last year, they shared the worst record in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning just two games. One of the team’s most talented players, 2012 first-round draft pick Justin Blackmon, was suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse rules and missed the first four games. Shortly after the wide receiver’s return, he was suspended again, this time indefinitely and without pay. Despite home game tickets that cost only $62 — the lowest in the NFL — home game attendance is down more than 8% compared with last year.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers
> Pct. decline: 38.8%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $263 (8th highest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $161 (16th highest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 8-8 (tied for 15th best)
> Current win-loss record: 3-6 (tied for 7th worst)

Steelers home game tickets are $100 cheaper these days than they were at the start of the season, the largest decrease in dollar terms in the NFL. According to Forbes, more Pittsburgh fans attended Steelers away games than any other team in the league. The team’s popularity can be associated with consistently good seasons — the Steelers have not had a losing season since 2003. However, considering the team’s terrible performance so far this season, fans may be getting nervous. Thirteen Steelers players are currently listed as injured, including center Maurkice Pouncey, three-time pro-bowler and 2011 first-team all-pro. Star linebacker LaMarr Woodley is also injured.

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1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
> Pct. decline: 39.1%
> Week 1 avg. ticket price: $161 (15th lowest)
> Current avg. ticket price: $98 (2nd lowest)
> 2012 win-loss record: 7-9 (tied for 11th worst)
> Current win-loss record: 1-8 (tied for the worst)

The Buccaneers signed pro-bowler Darrelle Revis at the beginning of this season, which may have improved their passing defense. However, this does not appear to have helped the team win games. On Monday, the team won its first game this season, and it is tied for the worst record in the league with Jacksonville. So far this season, less than half of Tampa Bay QB Josh Freeman’s throws hit their mark. He was eventually traded to Minnesota. Mike Glennon, the team’s replacement at starting QB, performed slightly better but has been just as incapable of securing a victory for Tampa Bay, excepting Monday. More than 20 players on the team are injured, including star running back Doug Martin. Last year, Raymond James Stadium had one of the worst attendance rates in the league. While attendance is up this year from about 84% to more than 86%, it is still among the worst in the league.

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