Those wanting to watch the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams next week will be shelling out record amounts of cash to see the game in person.
The game, taking place at the brand-new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, will be the first full-capacity Super Bowl since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the country. The average price of one ticket to watch the NFL championship is going for more than $9,648 on Friday, according to SeatGeek.
The average price of a ticket to this year’s Super Bowl is about double that for Super Bowl LLI, the last championship the Rams competed in back in 2019.
Even the cheapest tickets to this year’s game are not cheap. As of Friday afternoon, the least expensive tickets are nosebleed seats selling for about $4,100 — about the average price for a Super Bowl ticket five years ago.
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On the other end of the spectrum, the priciest seats (not including suites) are in the VIP section close to the field on the 50-yard line. They are being resold for up to $60,000 apiece, according to a review of tickets available on Ticketmaster. Considering the average Super Bowl lasts around three and a half hours, people in that range will be paying about $286 per minute to see the game live.
The higher prices are partially attributable to pent-up demand. Even during the last Super Bowl, which featured now-retired quarterback Tom Brady leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, most of the country was still unvaccinated and many were hesitant about venturing from their homes to large gatherings such as sporting events.
That dynamic has now shifted. Some 80% of all people over the age of 5 have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 90% of those aged 65 or older, the most vulnerable group, have been fully inoculated.
Given that it has been so long since there was a normal Super Bowl, some people who might have only felt comfortable spending $4,000 to attend the event before the pandemic may decide to splurge and drop a few extra thousand for the once-in-a-lifetime event.
The location in Los Angeles is also not cheap. The city is notorious for luxury lifestyles and exorbitant spending. Adam Budelli, spokesman for StubHub, pointed out that because the Rams are a hometown team, their fans will be willing to spend more on a ticket because they don’t have to worry about airfare.
“This is LA. The entertainment capital of the world, where prices for everything are through the roof. This is a perfect storm,” he told CNN. “Proximity to the game for the teams’ fans is always a major factor in pricing.”
While the Rams have the home team advantage in terms of ticket sales, fans of the underdog Bengals might be more likely to spend money to attend the game given that the team, led by quarterback Joe Burrow, has never won a Super Bowl. The last time the team even played in the championship game was just days after President George H.W. Bush was sworn into office.
But tickets to the game itself aren’t the only pricey thing about this year’s Super Bowl.
Admission to the Super Bowl Players Tailgate before the game will cost an additional $875, and a 12-person cabana reservation at the all-day party will set an attendee back $20,000.
While it isn’t clear if concession prices will go up because of the Super Bowl, a Michelob Ultra at SoFi Stadium typically costs $15, while a hotdog goes for $8.
Advertisers are also spending big bucks to get the word out about their businesses.
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NBC’s top 30-second TV ad spots were sold for a record $6.5 million apiece, a nearly 10% increase from the last two Super Bowls and a 20% increase from NBC’s last broadcast in 2018. A decade ago, 30-second ad spots were selling for $3.5 million.
The Rams, led by quarterback Matt Stafford, face off against the Bengals on Feb. 13.
