Prices on the secondary ticket market for Super Bowl LIX on Sunday in New Orleans are much less than last year’s big game and declining, but they’re still high by historical standards.
The average price for the Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles matchup at TickPick was $6,552 as of Tuesday. If that amount holds, it would be that website’s third highest for a Super Bowl.
Last year’s NFL title game between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers had an average price of $9,136 on that website. The only other Super Bowl to attract a higher average price was four years ago, when the amount was $7,046 for the Chiefs’ game against the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the crowd was limited to 25,000 fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lowest price for this year’s game at the Superdome was just less than $4,000, which has declined about 30% since the matchup was set on Jan. 26, when the Chiefs won their third straight AFC title and the Eagles won their second NFC title in three years.
Gametime reports a similar trend, also noting last year’s game had a minimum price of $8,764 shortly before kickoff.
“With last year’s Vegas hype and 49ers fan frenzy behind us, prices are seeing a natural market correction,” Gametime said in a released statement. “Plus, with no major ‘pent-up’ demand from either fan base, tickets are looking better than ever.”
The lowest tickets prices at StubHub and Vivid Seats also were less than $4,000.
TickPick co-CEO Brett Goldberg said there were a number of reasons why ticket prices are notably lower than last year.
That game was the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas, creating even more fan interest than usual. The close proximity of Allegiant Stadium to the nation’s eighth-busiest airport and Las Vegas Strip entertainment corridor that includes many of the world’s largest hotels contributed to record prices.
Hotel capacity in New Orleans is more limited with about 26,000 rooms in the city center, and even home rentals are at a premium.
“If you try to go book a hotel right now, it’s very challenging,” Goldberg said.
Another problem is the matchup. This is the third Super Bowl in a row for the Chiefs, who are chasing an unprecedented third straight Lombardi Trophy, and the second in three years for the Eagles.
“I think if the (Buffalo) Bills won (the AFC title game), you would’ve seen a very different dynamic here,” Goldberg said. “There’s a part of that (Chiefs) fan base that can afford to go to the Super Bowl three times, but that’s a very small (segment of the) fan base that could do that.
“Even the Eagles have a little bit of a fatigue from being at a Super Bowl two years ago. We’re hearing directly from fans, ‘I went two years ago. I’m not sure I could pull this off.’ Would they love to go? Sure, but the impracticality on it’s a $10,000 trip for two becomes very limiting.”
Goldberg said he hasn’t received feedback that the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in which 14 people were killed by a motorist on Bourbon Street in New Orleans played a significant part in the price decline.
New Orleans is about to host its record 11th Super Bowl, though its first in 12 years. The been-there, done-that feel is another factor, Goldberg said, and one Las Vegas could eventually face as well at some point.
“By the time you do it a third time, the stadium won’t be as new,” Goldberg said. “I do think it could lose some of its appeal.”