NFL ticket prices on the rise

Average NFL single game ticket sales have increased 4.5% from the 2009-2010 season - an average ticket will cost you $76.47. The New York fan base is hurting the most, as the average ticket for the New York Jets and New York Giants increased 38.1% and 26.0% respectively. Much of the increase can be contributed to the new $1.6 billion stadium built in New Jersey for the Jets and Giants to play in. However, 15 NFL teams have either decreased their rates or kept them steady from the year prior while only 9 NFL teams are above the league average in ticket prices. Moreover, some teams are softening the blow by lowering parking or concession prices. In a down economy, teams must avoid blackouts (an NFL game is blacked out in the market team's state if the game is not sold out 72 hours before kick off) as they tend to push their fan base even further away.

Professional sports can have a significant impact on local economies and in our current economic state, winning teams can have a critical impact on recessing cities. Hear that owners? Draft well, spend well, and implement the right personal to create a winning formula that can help slow the bleeding of this Great Recession.