Fans clamoring to see the Detroit Lions host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field in Detroit Sunday will have to fork out big bucks, the most in the history of the NFL’s divisional round.
Tickets for the game between the NFC North-winning Lions and the NFC South-winning Bucs cost an average of $1,186 on the secondary market, online ticketing marketplace TickPick says, according to Michigan news site MLive.com.
The price sets a secondary market record for the divisional round, smashing the $605 price set in the 2022 season when the Dallas Cowboys visited the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California, TickPick told MLive.com. Sunday’s Lions game against the visiting Los Angeles Rams set wild card round ticket price records as well.
Fans can pay a few hundred dollars less for standing room at Ford Field Sunday — those tickets are going for $739 on TickPick, according to the Detroit Free Press. The most expensive tickets are a group of four seats in one section going for $12,453, according to the Free Press.
Prices are high mainly because the Lions don’t make the playoffs frequently, and rarely play at home — Sunday’s game will be the second playoff game at Ford Field in the lifespan of the stadium, which opened in 2002.
Before the Lions game against the Rams on Sunday, the last Detroit home playoff game was a loss to division rival Green Bay Packers in the 1993-94 season, played in the now-demolished Pontiac Silverdome where the Lions played through 2001.
This year marks the first time the Lions won the current iteration of their division, introduced in 2002 when the NFL moved to eight four-team divisions.
The Lions last won the division in 1993, when it was the five-team NFC Central, which also included the Buccaneers. In the 1997 season, the division-winning Buccaneers hosted and beat the Lions in the wild card round.
Supply and demand also plays a part in the high prices, as season ticket holders and other Lions fans with tickets are loath to part with them. Matt Ferrel, TickPick head of growth, compared them to fans of pop star Taylor Swift refusing to give up their concert seats in summer 2023.
“We’re seeing that in a similar way with Detroit. If you’re a Detroit fan and you have tickets, it doesn’t matter what the price climbs to, you’re keeping those tickets,” Mr. Ferrel told CNN.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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