Football is undoubtedly one of the biggest sports in the U.S. Season after season, fans spend millions of dollars on tickets, jerseys and other merchandise, and when it comes to the Super Bowl, money is no object. And the Feb. 7 match-up between the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos will be no exception. Fans everywhere are gearing up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, and tickets are expected to reach record-breaking prices. But not for the reason you would think. Ticket prices are expected to skyrocket due to the market manipulation of ticket brokers through a number of online ticket vendors.
Ticket resale sites, such as StubHub and VividSeats, typically require sellers to disclose the seat information for their tickets before they are allowed to be put for sale. However, those rules become increasingly lax during sales periods for large sporting events and concerts, namely the Super Bowl. Ticket brokers use this unenforced regulation in order to sell tickets to fans at an exponentially higher price.
According to a report on StubHub’s sales data done by ESPN in 2015, the average face value of a ticket to the Super Bowl is approximately $500 to $1000, depending on the location of the seat. But the prices of resale tickets are often much higher; Fox Sports reported that average resale ticket prices for Super Bowl 50 have already hit $5,000, based on information from SeatGeek. Some individual tickets are already on sale for prices as high as $25,000.
Ticket brokers are at the root of this price inflation crisis. When resale sites don’t enforce the disclosure of ticket information, then ticket brokers are allowed to sell tickets that they don’t actually have. Brokers will list these tickets at very high prices and wait for individuals to buy them. Once they have the money from the ticket sale, brokers will wait for ticket prices to drop as the event approaches and then will finally purchase a cheaper ticket for their buyer. This form of short-selling in the ticket industry creates a huge profit for ticket brokers but leaves fans unnecessarily spending thousands of dollars to see their favorite teams play in the Super Bowl.
Although it may seem like spending $5,000 on a ticket to go a football game is the worst of a sports fan’s troubles, it’s not. Since ticket brokers are selling tickets that they don’t physically own, there is a high chance that the broker may not be able to fulfill a ticket that has already been purchased, leaving some sports fans without a seat on game day.
Every ticket resale site should require sellers to disclose ticket information and provide proof that the seller actually owns that ticket. If ticket vendors and resale platforms actually upheld this policy, then there would much less strain on the ticket market, and a wider variety of fans would be able to attend high profile events, such as the Super Bowl.
Buying tickets to any event should never be a scam, and vendors should crack down on the ticket brokers who try to cheat the system and, essentially, rob unsuspecting fans. The Super Bowl is meant to be a celebration of one of America’s favorite sports, not a way for brokers to make a quick buck.
