NFL ticket prices are a mystery to most fans.
One week, you find seats for under $100; the next, the same matchup costs three times as much.
Are tickets really cheaper closer to game day? Is the NFL driving up prices, or is it the resale sites?
In this post, we’ll separate fact from fiction with 7 truths and common myths about NFL ticket prices—so you’ll know when, where, and how to buy tickets without overpaying.
Myths and truths about NFL ticket prices
Myths
Misconception #1: The cost of NFL tickets
Somehow, NFL ticket prices are a bit of a mystery. The most relevant result of a Google search was a year old and placed the average cost at $151. Another one claims, “between $150 and $200”.
A deeper dive brought me to teammarketing.com, which used to publish team-by-team prices but haven’t done so since 2023. Back then, it reported an average price of $121 – which, based on an annual increase of 8-9% would make the current figure about $143. Here now is the thing – none of these numbers matter, which leads us to…
Misconception #2: Face value tickets are available to anyone
It used to be that the only way non-season ticket holders could buy seats at face value was to go the box office route. That is, you’d have to purchase paper tickets directly from the venue. Well, eTickets and online resellers have made that a thing of the past.
Pointedly, this is why I said that face value ticket prices – whether it’s $150 or $15 – don’t matter because you’ll never get the opportunity.
Here are some facts & figures that will help clarify the situation:
- According to a 2017 Gallup poll, about 57% of the U.S. population are NFL fans.
- Up to 72% of the average NFL stadium capacity – about 50,000 seats per game – is reserved for season pass holders, media, corporate sponsors, etc.
- For the estimated 185 million NFL fans in the US, that leaves a mere ~320,000 (16 x 20,000) seats available on a weekly basis. If you’re calculating, that comes out to a .17% (.0017) chance of you or me scoring a single game ticket at face value. In fact, you have a better chance of becoming a millionaire.
Misconception #3: All NFL ticket prices are the same
By “all”, I mean that the same or similar seats for a particular game should cost the same, regardless of the broker – right?
In theory this should be true, but in a free market this is rarely the case. For example, the same carton of eggs that you just bought for 5 bucks might cost $6 at another grocer.
The situation is the same when it comes to secondary market resellers, only on a larger scale. Take the Week 2 matchup of the Commanders and Packers (at Green Bay, 9/11/25) for example. The difference in price across ticket sites for a similar seat – i.e., same section, just a few rows apart – was as high as $149. Although this level of disparity is not the norm, it still occurs more than you think.
Truths
“Fans say the secondary ticket market is rigged against them – revealnews.org
Truth #1: The average NFL ticket price is wait, what?!
Rigged? The average fan has little choice but to buy his tickets on the secondary market, where prices are waaay above face value. Based on our own research across 6 ticket resellers, the average cost of a ticket for the 2025 season is about $387.
Truth #2: Dynamic pricing for NFL tickets is here to stay
Dynamic pricing makes real-time adjustments to the ticket cost based on demand. Demand factors can include opponent, weather, recent performance, and prime time scheduling.
This, of course, is designed to maximize profits for the NFL. Naturally, this produces some eye-popping numbers:
| Game | Average Purchase Price |
| Cowboys at Raiders, Nov. 17 | $673 |
| Cowboys at Eagles, Sep. 4 | $645 |
| Eagles at Packers, Nov. 10 | $606 |
| Source: TouchdownWire |
Consequently, the bottom line is that…
Truth #3: NFL games have become unaffordable for the average fan
Hyperbole? I think not
Let’s say that you’re an upper-middle class family of four with an annual household income of $117K. After taxes & various deductions, that works out to a net weekly total of about $1,687.
Now let’s use the Cowboys-Bears game (at Chicago, Sep.21) as an example. At a median price of $386.50 (mind you, this is the cheapest), your 4-ticket total is $1,546. Throw in the cost of a Soldier Field parking pass ($162.50) and the total exceeds that of your weekly disposable income. Furthermore, we’re not even counting the cost of food, drink, & merch.
To be straightforward, not all games are this costly, and not everyone assumes the tab for 4 tickets. The flip side of dynamic pricing is that you can also get tickets for below face value.
As of this writing, there are 15 games for the 2025 season with median cheap seat prices of 40 bucks or less. Predictably, the average combined 2024 win total for the teams in those games is 13. In fact, in only one of those contests did both teams have winning records (Texans at Chargers).
So, in essence, while the majority of the games overall are affordable, most of the high-demand games are not.
Why buying tickets to a game has become so unaffordable.
Truth #4: There is a best time to buy NFL tickets
When it comes to cheap NFL tickets, there’s an optimal time for making the purchase as well as when in the season to buy for:
- Best time to buy – The traditional belief that ticket prices are at their lowest the day or two before the game is popular, but is it true? According to this Reddit post, the answer is yes.
- Best time to buy for – Ticket prices typically decline as the season wears on. From 2021-2025, prices were highest for Week 1 in all but 1 season, and lowest for Week 18 in all but one. As a matter of fact, the average difference in median price from Week 1 to Week 18 is 43%. By and large, the best bargains to be had involve the last 5 weeks of the regular season.
Read: The Best Time to Buy NFL Tickets
Conclusion
- The average face value NFL ticket price in 2025 is $151.
- Since the opportunity to buy tickets at face value is miniscule, the average secondary market cost of $387 is the “real” price.
- Resale prices can vary greatly amongst ticket sites. In fact, the price difference for the same or similar seats can easily be more than $100.
- Dynamic pricing has resulted in making many high-demand games unaffordable for the average fan.
- There actually is a best time to buy NFL tickets. With the right timing and the right reseller, you can easily save 10-15% and oftentimes even more. Become a subscriber and start saving today.