Getting to experience your favorite NFL team live and in person is a dream for many and a moment you will never forget, whether your club wins or loses. However, some stadiums will gouge you before you even enter the venue, so going to see your team on the road might be your better option.
Below I’m going to outline the average NFL ticket prices in the 2020 season. Of course, some of these places had reduced capacity or no fans at all, so getting those tickets may have proved to be a difficult task.
Raiders Have to Pay for New Stadium
We have to start at the top of the list and I guess it makes sense that the team that just relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas and built a brand-new beautiful stadium would have the highest average ticket price in 2020.
In the above graph from Statista, you can see that the Las Vegas Raiders had the most expensive average ticket price in 2020 at $153.47 US. The ground was broken for the new Allegiant Stadium in late November 2017 and it was completed in late July 2020 for the cool price of $1.9 billion. No doubt Raiders ownership needs to recoup some of that money and that will come at the expense of fans.
What a change a year can make
It is quite a disappointment for many Raiders fans who frequented the Black Hole in Oakland, where a year earlier the average ticket price was nearly half what it costs now to see the same team in a different state.
Going to a Raiders game was fairly affordable while the team was in Oakland from 2006 until they played their final season in 2019. The peak price over that span was in the final year – likely trying to generate some revenue for the impending move – at $87.78 US, while the lowest price was a constant from 2006 to 2012 at $62.23 US.
Bills Mafia is the Best Bang for your Buck
Some people have negative things to say about Buffalo and maybe Highmark Stadium isn’t the best place for a December or January game because it can get mighty chilly. But you can save a bunch of money by going to a Bills home game.
In the graphic from Statista for the average 2020 NFL ticket prices, the Bills are right at the bottom at $75.95 US, nearly $40 cheaper than the NFL average. Now, you may not be a fan of the Bills but this team has made the playoffs in three of the last four seasons and made it to the AFC championship game in 2020.
This is an exciting team to see in person if you just so happen to be in the area, but you could also plan a trip around a visit by your favorite team, for which you would definitely pay more to see at its own stadium.
While there has been a steady increase in Bills ticket prices over the last three years, the cost per ticket is cheaper than its peak of $88.18 US, which was a blip in 2016.
Considering ticket prices for some of the surrounding teams such as the Patriots and Eagles, if you make the 6.5-hour trek to Buffalo, you can save about $50 on the price of admission, though you might spend as much on gas money.
What can we expect in 2021?
From the first graphic above, you may see some teams that are below the NFL average for ticket prices, perhaps including your team. That said, with the loss of revenue NFL teams have sustained, one can assume that we will see a jump this season, but are there teams that could see larger increases?
This graphic from Statista shows a projection for the 2020 season in which the New England Patriots were poised to endure the largest loss in ticket revenue in the league by nearly $40 million. The Pats, with the third-highest average ticket price in 2020, were projected to lose nearly $400 million. People might have to really open the wallet at Gillette Stadium and I think the Pats will have the most expensive tickets in 2021.
