Rodgers-Brady contest tops Packers tickets on uncertain secondary market
Richard RymanThe secondary market for National Football League games is taking shape, but uncertainty about the season is keeping the ticket-reselling market soft.
"I would say right now, the coronavirus is having a significant effect. The prices are what they are, but we are probably selling 20 to 25 percent of what we would sell at this time during a normal season," said Bill Wenzel, president of Green Bay Ticket Service in Ashwaubenon. "There is so much uncertainty out there."
The market is soft because there are more potential sellers than buyers, among both fans and ticket brokers. Season ticket holders, many of whom want to hold onto their tickets but need help in paying for them, are having a difficult time finding buyers, especially among brokers. Brokers don't want to get stuck with a lot of unsold tickets or put in a position of having to make a lot of refunds, so they are proceeding cautiously.
As of now, the NFL is proceeding as if it's business as usual, but the league admits it's preparing for multiple scenarios. The league has not been specific about what those might be, but it can be assumed to include games with no fans and games with limited fans, or in the extreme, no games.
"We are planning on having a full regular season with fans in the stands," Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said on a WTMJ radio broadcast Tuesday.
But there is a caveat. "We are not going to put our fans, number one, or our coaches or players where their health or safety are at risk. We are not going to have people come to the stadium if there is high risk, or any risk," he said.
It is too soon to know what will happen, thus the uncertainty and weakness in the secondary ticket market. But, as the Packers say, you have to start somewhere.
So here is a game-by-game breakdown of what fans and, let's be honest, really brave speculators think of the Packers' 2020 schedule.
It comes as no surprise that the highest-priced game is Oct. 18 in Tampa. With Tom Brady as their new quarterback, the Bucs are now hot, and a Brady-Aaron Rodgers matchup always draws interest, perhaps because it happens so seldom. In fact, they've only started against each other twice, in 2014 and 2018, with each team winning once.
"There are certain cities Packers fans love to go to. New Orleans is a good one. The other good one is Tampa," said Dennis Garrity, president and CEO of Event USA in Ashwaubenon. "Not only is (Tampa) a desirable location, now you have Tommy Brady playing there. That's a new dimension."
The average of lowest ticket prices listed by resellers for the four most expensive games are $230 for the Bucs in Tampa, $200 for the Chicago Bears at Lambeau, $191 for the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau and $190 for the Packers against the Saints in New Orleans. After that, the average price drops to $168 for the Falcons at Lambeau and ranges to $79 for the Packers in Detroit.
It turns out there is a way to create demand for a Lions game, however. Make it the Packers' home opener, the only Sunday afternoon game and the only Green package game at Lambeau Field in the season's first two months. The average of lowest prices for that game is $165.
The Green package includes six regular-season home games. The Gold package includes the second and fifth home games every year and is primarily made up of fans from the Milwaukee area and southern Wisconsin.
The average prices are derived from a survey of eight secondary market suppliers.
Secondary marketplace Vivid Seats has average overall prices for the top games at $362 for the Bucs, $283 for the Vikings at Green Bay and $279 for the Bears at Green Bay.
"The Vikings game, for sure, is the hottest home game. But even it’s not that hot," Wenzel said.
Prices at the high end are not as high as they were at this time last year, but that could be attributable to the games themselves as well as to coronavirus concerns. In 2019, for example, the Packers opened the season in Chicago. Although it was a Thursday night game, it was the NFL opener, Chicago was defending division champs, and the Packers' Matt LaFleur was making his head coaching debut. In short, there was a lot of interest and the April average of the lowest ticket was $326. By August, it had increased to $387.
Seven games averaged $192 or more, compared to four this year in that range.
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Five of this season's seven highest-priced Packers games — against the Bears, Vikings, Falcons, Eagles and Lions — are scheduled for Lambeau Field. Two of those games, the home opener against the Lions and the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 5, could be affected as much by schedule position as they are by other factors. Neither is a marquee opponent or has fans that travel well.
More likely, the Falcons are higher because they are the first Gold package game and the only October game at Lambeau, similar to the Lions' circumstance in September, mentioned previously.
"The other game that would have had potential is the Philly game. Their fans traveled really well last year," Wenzel said.
The interest in the season-opening game in Minneapolis is not as high as would be expected, Garrity said. Indeed, it is the eighth most expensive game based on average lowest price.
"Perhaps people are just reticent about attending that game with the aura of the virus hanging over their head yet," Garrity said.
Across the league, the number of out-of-state buyers is down from previous years, likely because of coronavirus concerns, said Alexandra Dacks of StubHub.
"In general, NFL buyers during this schedule release live closer to the venue," she said.
Garrity has the Packers' top home games in somewhat different order of popularity than based on the average price, but includes the same teams. Event USA has not offered road game packages yet, but based on customer inquiries, the Bucs and Saints are at the top, followed by the Houston Texans on Oct. 25 and the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 22.
"The Colts is a reasonably driveable road trip, so that helps," Garrity said.
Packers fans seem to have had their fill of the 49ers. They are scheduled to make their third trip to Santa Clara in 12 months and the average lowest price for the defending NFL champion is $141. It should be noted, however, it was $146 at this time last year and rose to $248 a week before the game.
Moving three preseason games to Saturdays was a great decision by the NFL, Wenzel said. He envisions the games, which have declined in popularity, would be more popular to families than Thursday night games.
At least in a non-virus year.
For our weekly look at Packers' tickets prices, we average the lowest ticket prices at eight secondary-market websites: Event USA, Green Bay Ticket Service, NFL Exchange, StubHub, TickPick, Ticket King, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats. Note that ticket brokers can add fees on top of the prices listed here, so actual costs might be higher.
Sept. 13, noon, Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $159
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $136-$185
Sept. 20, noon, Detroit Lions, Lambeau Field, Fox
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $165
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $148-$180
Sept. 27, 7:20 p.m., New Orleans Saints, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Sunday Night Football, NBC
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $190
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $163-$227
Oct. 5, 7:15 p.m., Atlanta Falcons, Lambeau Field, Monday Night Football, ESPN
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $168
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $156-$184
Oct. 18, 3:25 p.m., Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raymond James Stadium, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $230
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $180-$277
Oct. 25, noon, Houston Texans, NRG Stadium, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $129
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $112-$157
Nov. 1, noon, Minnesota Vikings, Lambeau Field, Fox
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $191
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $162-$215
Nov. 5, 7:20 p.m., San Francisco 49ers, Levi's Stadium, Thursday Night Football, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $141
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $99-$165
Nov. 15, noon, Jacksonville Jaguars, Lambeau Field, Fox
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $150
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $130-$176
Nov. 22, noon, Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $120
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $94-$147
Nov. 29, 7:20 p.m., Chicago Bears, Lambeau Field, Sunday Night Football, NBC
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $200
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $167-$219
Dec. 6, 3:25 p.m., Philadelphia Eagles, Lambeau Field, CBS
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $165
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $132-$196
Dec. 13, noon, Detroit Lions, Ford Field, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $79
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $63-$100
Dec. 19 or 20, time to be determined, Lambeau Field, network to be determined
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $140
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $119-$156
Dec. 27, 7:20 p.m., Tennessee Titans, Lambeau Field, Sunday Night Football, NBC
- Face-price range (not including premium seating): $118-$149
- Average lowest-cost seat: $145
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $119-$161
Jan. 3, noon, Chicago Bears, Soldier Field, Fox
- Face-price range: N/A
- Average lowest-cost seat: $150
- Range of lowest-cost seat: $123-$180
Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/