The Super Bowl.

The greatest event in all of sports. Well, except maybe March Madness, the World Cup or just about any game when the New York Knicks are on a winning streak. But for the most part, it’s sports’ magnum opus, and most would agree.

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Except for the people throwing temper tantrums on the internet because it’s the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers; grow up, you’re still going to watch it. I, for one, am excited to watch the game and maybe make it a little more interesting by “hoping” the opening kickoff is not a touchback. 

But like the overwhelming majority of those who will tune in Sunday afternoon to watch the big game, I will do so on my couch or at a sports bar, not in person at Allegiant Stadium, but on a TV. I am currently studying abroad in England, so it wouldn’t even make sense to watch the game in person. But even if I could, the majority of football lovers and I couldn’t even afford it. 

It’s ridiculous.

Before I get into the thick of my grievances, it is important to mention I was lucky enough to get the chance to intern at the 2022 Super Bowl. I was a quote runner — tasked with going to the postgame press conferences, recording the players’ interviews and then quickly transcribing them back to the reporters. It was much more running than I expected, but it was an amazing opportunity.

It was an opportunity most football fans will never get, because ticket prices are only continuing to skyrocket. You might think, “Well, I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” Let me assure you it is.

The cheapest ticket on the market right now — and I’m talking 300-level, so high you might pass out from the thin air — is $8,100 including fees. The average ticket price is just over $12,000; absurd. 

Look at every other major North American final; no ticket is even close to the same price. I get it, the Super Bowl and the NFL as a whole are the biggest entities in just about all of sports. But it’s alienating for the everyday fan to not even have a real shot of going to football’s biggest and most important game.

Every other sport makes it possible for fans. Instead of paying $8,100 for an awful seat at the Super Bowl, I could have paid for an average ticket for every game of the 2023 NBA Finals (about $5,340), every game of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals (approximately $2,000) and still have had enough money to splurge on a 2023 World Series ticket ($740 for a good seat) with a few ballpark hot dogs.

And it’s only getting worse. This year, the average ticket is the most expensive it’s ever been, up more than 70% from last year. But, as some articles might point out as a defense, it’s costly because it’s in Las Vegas. While this may have some to do with the expensive price tag, last year’s Super Bowl in Arizona was still at an average price of $8,907. The price has increased almost every year, and will only continue to do so.

It’s become a luxury most can’t even dream of going to. But it’s so expensive because the NFL doesn’t sell face-value tickets to the general public — something uncommon for other major sports events. Only a select few season ticket holders from the teams that made the Super Bowl get the chance to buy the tickets. The eliminated teams get to give out a few tickets as well — a much smaller percentage — to some of their season ticket holders as well. And the rest of the tickets the NFL will give out to whoever it pleases, mainly sponsors and business partners.

That’s why even if you somehow manage to pay for the expensive ticket, it’s not even an event for the fans anymore. It’s an event for businesses trying to persuade their clients. You never hear about the crazy atmosphere of the Super Bowl like you do for the NBA Finals or even other NFL playoff games; it’s because there isn’t any. 

The fandom is what makes football so great. It’s why some of my friends will root for the New York Jets to finally win and why I’ll root for the Washington Commanders occasionally — to see the suffering fans finally happy. But these fans can’t even witness their teams’ greatest triumph in person like it was intended.

It makes sense that it’s expensive to see a championship game, but it’s gotten out of hand for the Super Bowl. And because of that, the NFL is taking one of the best parts of the game away almost completely in its biggest stage: the fans.

Stefano Fendrich is a junior writing about his opinions on some of sports’ biggest debates in his column, “The Great Debate,” which runs every other Wednesday.