NFL fans across the country can expect to pay more for tickets in 2021 than ever before. It should come then as no surprise to fans of America’s Team, that Dallas Cowboys ticket price increases are in full effect. Cowboys fans know all too well, that supporting the most iconic franchise in all of pro sports comes at a high cost. It would be expected that of all the ticket price increases, fans of the Dallas Cowboys would be subjected to the most substantial. However, a report from the Action Network has revealed that is not at all the case.
In their recent article sourced from https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/when-best-time-buy-nfl-tickets-upcoming-season and using data collected from Statista; the Action Network ranked each NFL franchise from largest % increase in Average Ticket Price to lowest from 2006 to 2020. Below is a table displaying the results:
| Rank | Team | Average Ticket Price in 2006* | Average Ticket Price in 2020* | Percentage Increase |
| 1 | Las Vegas Raiders | $62.23 | $153.47 | 147% |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | $50.46 | $117.86 | 134% |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | $58.39 | $128.93 | 121% |
| 4 | San Francisco 49ers | $63.70 | $139.71 | 119% |
| 5 | Houston Texans | $56.97 | $118.07 | 107% |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | $59.19 | $114.24 | 93% |
| 7 | Tennessee Titans | $47.82 | $92.16 | 93% |
| 8 | New Orleans Saints | $54.86 | $104.5 | 90% |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | $69.00 | $127.06 | 84% |
| 10 | Carolina Panthers | $60.44 | $109.81 | 82% |
| 11 | Buffalo Bills | $41.29 | $74.95 | 82% |
| 12 | Baltimore Ravens | $62.01 | $110.53 | 78% |
| 13 | Jacksonville Jaguars | $45.08 | $80.09 | 78% |
| 14 | Atlanta Falcons | $60.34 | $106.06 | 76% |
| 15 | Cleveland Browns | $48.79 | $82.82 | 70% |
| 16 | Arizona Cardinals | $51.32 | $84.83 | 65% |
| 17 | Detroit Lions | $56.90 | $91.89 | 61% |
| 18 | Indianapolis Colts | $60.06 | $95.98 | 60% |
| 19 | Los Angeles Rams | $63.71 | $101.62 | 60% |
| 20 | Chicago Bears | $77.78 | $122.9 | 58% |
| 21 | Denver Broncos | $68.55 | $104.99 | 53% |
| 22 | Minnesota Vikings | $71.32 | $108.79 | 53% |
| 23 | New York Giants | $76.59 | $115.31 | 51% |
| 24 | Dallas Cowboys | $66.12 | $99.50 | 50% |
| 25 | New England Patriots | $90.89 | $131.45 | 45% |
| 26 | Washington Football Team | $79.13 | $113.46 | 43% |
| 27 | Miami Dolphins | $59.35 | $84.36 | 42% |
| 28 | Kansas City Chiefs | $67.33 | $94.63 | 41% |
| 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $67.97 | $89.48 | 32% |
| 30 | Cincinnati Bengals | $60.85 | $79.37 | 30% |
| 31 | New York Jets | $74.96 | $94.16 | 26% |
| 32 | Los Angeles Chargers | $62.82 | $78.38 | 25% |
*Based on average home game tickets.
For full information, visit https://www.actionnetwork.com/nfl
As an avid supporter of the Dallas Cowboys and one who has blown more than a few paychecks on game tickets I am shocked at these findings. I am also surprised to see that the Cowboys rank in the bottom third of the league in average ticket price as of 2020. I can only think of 2 logical explanations for this. The first is that the standing room only seats at AT&T Stadium (a rarity among professional sports teams) are dragging down the mean average and skewing the data. The second is that this data is not based on the secondary market which is a more accurate representation of what fans can expect to pay to attend a football game. After all, it is through the secondary market where I most often experience Dallas Cowboys games…in another team’s stadium.
So, while at first glance this data does contradict my experiences as a football fan, it does make sense. And, the biggest thing that I take away from it is this: Jerry Jones has made a lot of money as the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, but maybe, just maybe, he is not as greedy as he is made out to be.
Photo by Joe Glorioso All-Pro Reels https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode
