Sports marketing experts say the Redskins’ practice of marketing seats to former and would-be season ticket holders while still touting a decades-long season ticket wait list can damage the team’s credibility. “It’s spin,” said Susan Goodell, vice president of Baltimore communications firm Warschawski. “What’s the difference between the tickets available and season tickets — they don’t tell you.”

Other teams are more forthcoming with their fans. The Baltimore Ravens, for example, have capped the number of Permanent Seat Licenses at 62,000 for a 73,000-seat stadium, and a waiting list to buy a PSL from the team at face value is closed out with 3,000 people in line.