Super Bowl ticket sales up 91% from last year - StubHub

It’s the final countdown to Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona pitting the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots. As of 9am ET Monday the cheapest ticket on StubHub was selling for $4,360.50. The average price is currently $3,220.

For a point of reference, last year the average cost of a ticket the weekend before the big game was $3,715. (In case you missed it, that game was a showdown between the Seahawks and the Broncos in New York.) But when all was said and done, the average cost was $2,572, just $2 more than the year before when the Baltimore Ravens faced the San Francisco 49ers. That may be because prices tend to go down the week leading up to the game.

Overall, StubHub says sales are up 91% this year and this could be one of the highest selling Super Bowls the company has ever seen.

It's worth noting that Super Bowl tickets are not sold directly to fans, so re-sale venues like StubHub are crucial for these games. The NFL gives the majority of tickets to the two participating teams, but also hands out tickets to the league's other 30 teams. Those tickets are often passed on to season ticket holders. The league also holds a random drawing each year - which is the only way for average-joe fans to get tickets.

StubHub says that generally most Super Bowl tickets are bought by fans in the state the Super Bowl is being held in that year, followed by fans from each of the competing teams. This year, however, Seattle fans are out-buying Arizonians. Seattle has scooped up 20% of the tickets (more on that later), compared to 12% for Arizona fans and 6% to Massachusetts fans.

So just what determines the price of a Super Bowl ticket and when’s the best time to buy? We asked the experts at StubHub.

When are tickets most expensive?

The cheapest way to get a ticket is by being picked through the NFL raffle. Entries for that raffle are from Feb. 1 to June 1 the year before the game in question - so when you're done with your nacho hangover on Sunday, you may want to send in your info.

If that doesn't work for you, you may want to wait to see if your team makes it, and then, avoid Mondays.

Ticket sales volume, and also prices, tend to jump the Monday after a playoff weekend. “As with the run-up to the championships in any sport, a lot of people like to wait to see who’s really in it,” said StubHub spokesperson Alison Salcedo. “The biggest bump was [last] Monday after the divisional championship – 30% spike in overall Super Bowl [ticket] sales. That was when we had the most volume.”

Tickets also tend to be pricier when the Super Bowl is held in a warm weather locale, according to StubHub. New York was a bit of an exception, though, she said. Likely because it was the first time the Super Bowl was ever held in the U.S.’s biggest city, and because “New York is New York,” she said.

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Ticket prices also tend to drop right ahead of the big game. “Typically as we approach an event prices start to dip a bit,” said Salcedo. But that said, prices can be a wild card if demand is high. Ticket prices are, after all, a basic case of economics 101 – supply and demand. “If you’re die hard and you care where you sit and you absolutely have to be at the game, buy early. But if you’re flexible about where you sit and have some patience and wait it out, you might just get a good deal.”

Do the teams matter?

Of course. Before they were eliminated, Dallas fans were buying tickets en mass. If you look at the sales to their regular season games, you can get a sense of just which teams have the highest turnout, and drive prices up the most.

According to StubHub the top teams, in terms of overall sales for home games, for this past year were the Cowboys, the 49ers, the Seahawks, the Giants and last but not least this writer's beloved Chicago Bears. Of those top five, only the Cowboys and Seahawks made the playoffs.

This year, though, it’s all about Seattle. The team has a well-documented set of super-fans (hello, 12th man) and with a chance to see back-to-back Lombardi trophies, they’re buying tickets like it's a once in a lifetime event. Here’s the Seattle Times talking about Hawks’ fans push to turn Super Bowl XLIX into just another home game.

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But don’t count out Patriots fans. According to a report from Orbitz released even before Tom Brady clinched the AFC spot, New England fans were buying the most tickets to Phoenix, even though they’re the farthest away by miles.

Ticket tips

According to StubHub, which admittedly has an interest in how you buy your tickets, there are a few strategies you can use to make sure you don’t get ripped off.

First – buy with a credit card. This way, if there is some scam, you can cancel payment and have records of the purchase. It’s also good to make sure that wherever you’re buying from has a registered toll-free number to call in case of problems. Looking for that will help ensure you’re buying legitimate tickets.

Once you get tickets resist the urge to snap photos of them for social media. And if you do post something, make sure to follow a few rules. “Be sure to cover up the bar code and serial numbers or you’re basically inviting counterfeits,” said Salcedo. “The bar code is the social security number of the tickets.”

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