If you are planning to go to a Philadelphia Eagles game this season, whether all 10 home games or just a single game, be prepared to dig deep into your wallet. And you can be sure the future costs will only get higher.
Betway researched which NFL teams have increased their prices most recently. It created the Future Family Fandom Cost Index, which forecasts how much each fanbase will be paying in 2025. Eagles fans can expect to pay the 8th highest prices in the NFL in three years. The team with the expected highest prices was the Las Vegas Raiders and the least costly is expected to be the New York Jets.
It is bad enough in 2022.
Football is the highest-rated sports programming on TV. But being in the stands to cheer on the Birds at Lincoln Financial Field instead of watching on TV requires an investment of time and money.
Apart from the cost of game tickets, fans must pay for parking and food from the concession stands and perhaps a game program. It adds up.
Single-game tickets are scarce. As of this writing, a few are available directly from the Eagles’ ticket office via Ticketmaster. A check on availability for the first regular-season home game against Minnesota on Monday night, September 19, showed prices ranging from $98 for standing-room to $160 to $350 depending on seat location, excluding service charges.
Ticketmaster also offers tickets on a resale basis; resale prices for the opener range from $140 to more than $900 depending on the section.
For the October 16 Sunday night game against Dallas the resale price ranged from $138 to an astronomical $4,950. Those figures will likely change as the game draws closer.
The Delaware Valley Journal explored purchasing a ticket directly from the Eagles for the Minnesota game with a face value of $160. In addition, there would have been $31.85 in fees. And on top of that, fans driving to the game might pay $40 to park. If they spend time tailgating in the parking lot they should expect to spend $50 per person for various refreshments, not to mention the cost of food beverages, or souvenirs purchased inside the building (fans may not bring food inside with them).
Add it all up, and a fan attending an Eagles home game might expect to spend in the neighborhood of $300 for the experience which might include spending several hours outdoors in inclement weather surrounded by fans who may not always be on their best behavior, to say the least.
For some, the experience is no longer worth it.
Gordon Glantz of Blue Bell has Eagles blood running through his veins; his family has had season tickets since he was born. This season he spent $3,066 for two season tickets that include 10 games (this year nine regular season plus one preseason). But Glantz has not attended an Eagles game since 2018, the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Instead, he sells his tickets for a small profit and watches the games from home.
“I remember going to games with my father,” he said. “We’d leave his house in Abington around 11:15 a.m. (for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff). He’d pick up some guys who lived close by and we’d still be at the stadium and in our seats well before kickoff. Now it’s a full day. If you don’t leave by 10 a.m., it’s a problem because of parking and traffic. It’s no longer a game. It’s an event. You don’t get home until 6-6:30 p.m. Used to be 5-5:30 p.m.
“And forget about the night games. I stopped going to those well before the 1 p.m. games. There was once parking at the stadium for a reasonable rate. My dad soon started parking at a nearby church for a reasonable rate that had better access for the getaway after the game. So many spots are taken up by people tailgating.”
Stu Fishman also lives in Blue Bell. He started attending games with friends in 1971 when the Eagles moved into Veterans Stadium. Season tickets were $35 for seven home games. (That was $5 a game.) There were just 14 regular season games and season ticketholders did not have to pay for tickets to preseason games as they do now.
Today, Fishman pays $950 for his season ticket, including all 10 home games (one preseason, nine regular season).
“I have four seats,” he said. “I split them with a friend of mine.”
Fishman notes that because the home schedule features just 10 games, each is a unique event.
“I’m not buying 81 games like the Phillies,” he said. “Or 40 games like the Flyers. It’s like going to a concert.”
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