Topline
Ticket sales for the Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears show the biggest surge in price heading into the 2025 season when compared to last year, new data from ticket reseller Vivid Seats shows.
Surging demand has driven up ticket prices for the Lions home and away games by 29% year over year on the platform, and prices are up 24% for the Commanders and 21% for the Bears.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings also show increased demand, with a 17% and 16% increase in ticket prices from last year, respectively.
Vivid Seats data show the Dallas Cowboys are the team with the most widespread fans, in 290 counties, more than any other team, followed by the Kansas City Chiefs (262 counties) and the Vikings (207 counties).
When it comes to the most dedicated fans, the Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders lead—the Eagles have the most fans at away games, filling 47% of seats, and Raiders fans are willing to travel the furthest to see a game, averaging 575 miles per game last season.
The NFC is the conference leading the market in demand for re-sale tickets, the Vivid Seats data shows, with an average sale price of $331, topping the AFC’s $297.
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The Detroit Lions have seen a surge in popularity and fan engagement in recent years as the team rises in the rankings. The "Honolulu Blue wave" phenomenon, a reference to the team’s signature color, has seen a surge in jersey sales, heightened social media activity and now a boost in ticket interest. The 2024-2025 season was the best in franchise history with an ending record of 15-2, a franchise record for wins, and saw them secure the NFC's No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The Lions also had their best start since 1934. Going into the 2025 season, the Lions are the No. 2 seed in the NFC North.
$131.82. That was the average NFL ticket price last regular season, up 9% from $120.94 the season before.
If NFL sees a boost in broadcast viewers, too. The start of the 2024 season brought a viewership surge that shot the league to a nine-year high in television ratings, averaging 18.6 million viewers across the first three weeks. The viewership number was a significant boost from 2023's season’s average of 17.9 million, which was itself the highest since 2015. The surge was attributed largely to the "Taylor Swift effect"—interest in her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce—bringing an influx of women and girls to the sport. The "Swift bump" increased viewership, jersey sales, and social media engagement. Other factors credited with contributing to the surge include the league's efforts to boost fan engagement, like licensing games to streaming services, the rise of sports betting and more participation in fantasy football.