Brett Goldberg, the TickPick Co-CEO and Co-Founder says NFL ticket prices are reaching record highs. He explains what's behind the price surge and how the outlook for live events is shaping up for this year.

NFL ticket prices remain notably high, with average costs for some teams, such as the Philadelphia Eagles, reaching over $500 per game. Recent regulatory changes by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now require ticket marketplaces to display all-in pricing, eliminating hidden fees and making the total cost more transparent for consumers. Despite these changes, the overall price to attend NFL games has not significantly decreased, as the demand for live events remains strong and teams continue to offer premium experiences to justify higher prices.

Marketplaces like TickPick, which previously differentiated themselves by showing upfront pricing and lower fees, are now repositioning as all major platforms comply with the new regulations. Partnerships between ticket sellers and NFL teams are focused on enhancing the fan experience, including offering exclusive access and amenities. Attendance for live sports events, including Major League Baseball, is up, indicating that consumers are still willing to pay premium prices for live entertainment.

Why NFL ticket prices are so high

It doesn't just feel like the NFL. I was trying to get my hands on US Open tickets all last week, and it was like $200 just to get in, and then like $500 to get into Arthur Ashe. What's going on right now? US Open's a hot one also. But I think if you were looking at the first week or two, you would have gotten better prices. And there are ground passes that they sell, and you can get good access early in the beginning. You'd be looking at probably $50 actually in the beginning. So I went too late, basically. Yeah, you've got to plan ahead. Tell us the unique selling point of TickPick, right? Because you, I think, advertise that you don't have the hidden fees. If I go on StubHub or if I go on Ticketmaster, I see $100, and it ends up being like $188. So we started this 2011, and it was all about no fees and showing the total price up front. What's happened ironically this year is the FTC has actually stepped in, and they've now enforced all in pricing. So every major marketplace and Ticketmaster, now we're showing the total price up front. So we've got some repositioning and branding that we're doing. Our prices are still cheaper because we're not doing both the buyer and the seller fee. So we'll make about 14% of the sale, and most of our competitors are making 18% to 20%. But you're no longer going to get tricked anymore. That's a good thing. And presumably, a lot of artists and events like that because they want to have butts in seats. I mean, it's a bad look when tickets are so expensive that stadiums, concert venues are ugly. So what's kind of the ugly? Or don't have enough people in them, and that's an ugly site. So what has been the response from the actual organizers themselves? I think on the FTC change here has now required some marketplaces to probably pull back their fee structure. So I do think you have now seen the total price of consumers actually come down, which is obviously helpful to consumers. And then I think on the musician, promoter, agent side, that probably hasn't changed that much. I think there's a little bit of a conflict of interest here where they still wanted the ticket price, and then the fee broken out. Because they said, hey, we're getting the ticket price in the marketplace, so the ticket engine is making the fee. And they want it broken out. So there's a bit of friction here. I think of you, I think of TickPick primarily for sports tickets. But I look at your website, and I see also concerts, music, as well as theater, Broadway plays and stuff. Is there a place where you have a specific strength? So 60% of our business is sports. And we're mostly a marketplace, but we did buy a primary ticketing company a year ago. So we do think there's an opportunity on that front with Ticketmaster, AEG, and the likes. But sports is a big piece of the business, one of the reoccurring nature. And we're working directly with the team. So we work with the Eagles, the Jets, the Ravens, the Texans, the Rams. So a lot of NFL partnerships. It's all about improving the fan experience. It seems like there could be ancillary revenue opportunities there then. Because if I say, TickPick is my place to go for Jets tickets, if I were to torture myself that way, I might also want to use this site to bet on Jets games. Do you see any opportunities like that? We've talked with the different partners on that front. And we thought about, is there something that you could do unique, where if you buy a ticket, now you get access to something different? We haven't executed on that. But in regard to the Jets, we're now trying to sell on-field access and post-game access. For the Eagles, we're selling tunnel access. So you're getting right next to the player. So we're trying to figure out, as these prices go up, the fan is demanding more. And so we're trying to give them more. And I think the teams have done a great job leaning into this as well. A lot has been made about consumer weakness. Is the fan still willing to pay? I mean, your stats, $539 on average for a Philadelphia Eagles game. That's not cheap, Brett. Are people still willing to pay that? Eagles is a little bit of an anomaly. So they are the most in-demand team. And just coming off the Super Bowl win, it's kind of understandable. I think NFL is also unique. That structure of 17 games, eight or nine home games, people are going to pay that. So if you've got discretionary income, it's going towards live events. But NFL is definitely a little bit of an anomaly. But live events as a whole is still very hot. How do you see baseball shaping up? Because the game has faced a lot of challenges. It's been popular lately because of Phillies' Karen, at least in terms of it being in the news. But are more people going to those games? Are they doing it right? Attendance is up for MLB. And I think the rule changes they've made have been phenomenal. And it's been very well-received. I think there are other things about shortening the game, and then the food and merchandise and what they're selling inside. Maybe it's taking a little bit of a hit. But attendance has been up. So that's huge. I even think the NFL, I was watching yesterday, and there's little things that they continue to do, improving the kickoff. They've put six cameras inside every single stadium now to improve the fourth down conversion, or first down conversion, I should say. And it's a virtual now. So you're never going to see the chain link come out anymore. So I think the NFL has done a phenomenal job updating the game on an annual basis.

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