SAN FRANCISCO — Insights into Super Bowl LX from the secondary ticket market are now emerging.
Initial purchasing patterns indicate the attendance will strongly favor the Seattle Seahawks. Consumers from the New England region have shown less urgency in acquiring tickets compared to others. Overall, attendees seem to be following a previous year’s strategy of delaying purchases, potentially driving down the cost of the least expensive seats closer to the event weekend.
This information comes from extensive data across various secondary ticketing sites, where “entry-level” prices (the most affordable tickets to attend Super Bowl LX) have significantly decreased since the championship games concluded on January 25th. Such minimum ticket costs reached approximately $6,200 by the close of the previous week, subsequently falling by almost 30 percent earlier this week to about $4,300. This drop is primarily attributed to the market handling a substantial increase in ticket availability, which swelled to nearly 4,200 seats just two days post-conference championships.
Currently, these prices have become steady and have seen a minor recovery, varying between $4,900 and $5,000 based on the specific sales portal.
However, a notable pattern from the previous year persists: a reluctance to buy early. During the last season, numerous marketplaces observed over half of their Super Bowl ticket supply being sold between Friday night and Sunday’s kickoff of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles game. Some of these platforms now predict a comparable situation this year, with supporters of the Seahawks exercising restraint due to their relatively short distance from San Francisco (enabling deferred purchase and travel), and Patriots enthusiasts possibly foregoing attendance due to considerable travel costs from the New England vicinity to Northern California.
Regardless of the underlying causes, ticket exchanges are carefully monitoring their stock and consumer behaviors as the middle of the week approaches — with several anticipating that costs might mirror the previous Super Bowl’s trajectory, becoming more affordable as ticket availability grows closer to Sunday.
“Our projection is for prices to keep falling as the event draws nearer, simultaneously with an expected rise in demand, consistent with patterns observed in past years,” stated Michael Stock, the head of pricing and strategic business development at Gametime, a ticket vendor. “…We do not foresee this year’s event reaching the unparalleled [average] pricing seen in 2024 in Las Vegas. Although this year’s game is pricier than the last, we don’t anticipate a continued ascent in costs, but rather a leveling out similar to the 2022, 2023, and 2025 events.”
By Wednesday morning, Gametime offered its lowest-priced admission ticket at $4,892 (inclusive of charges), whereas its priciest option was a tenth-row seat in the lower bowl behind the Seahawks’ sideline, costing $39,041. The mean ticket cost across various platforms was approximately $9,000 (including fees) as of Wednesday morning — which represents almost twice the average cost from Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, the last time the Seahawks and Patriots competed. The total available tickets in the market remained around 4,000 units.
Comparing purchases from the Portland/Seattle regions against those from Boston/New England, Gametime indicated an initial sales advantage for the Seahawks of 5.5 to 1. In conclusion, the current trajectory suggests an event that will probably rank among the top five in terms of average Super Bowl ticket costs historically, yet fall short of the peak potential pricing that could have been realized if teams like the Buffalo Bills or the hometown San Francisco 49ers had qualified.
“The pairing of teams this year, both having achieved considerable Super Bowl success within approximately the past ten years, has resulted in quite consistent pricing patterns,” Stock commented. “Conversely, if contenders such as the Buffalo Bills or the local San Francisco 49ers had advanced to the game, we would have predicted unprecedented price levels. Upon New England’s victory in the AFC, prices showed minimal alteration, and following Seattle’s NFC triumph, we observed only slight increases.”
Given that initial access prices plummeted to between $2,600 and $2,700 (excluding additional charges) late in the week for those purchasing last year’s Super Bowl tickets, this consistent pattern and a measure of patience might benefit supporters who seem ready to delay their purchases again. At present, ticket agents are observing the situation intently.
