How come there’s no control over the reselling of Super Bowl tickets?

The NFL Super Bowl XLIX is less than two days away, but cheapest ticket prices are over the $9,000 range.

Fans who didn’t get their tickets on time are suffering from the ridiculously high ticket prices days before the big game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (6pm EST on ABC).  As of this moment there are only 8 tickets on StubHub that cost less than $10,000, with the ticket going for about $9,500.

StubHub’s most expensive tickets go for about $60,000. But if you think you might be able to find something better on sites like eBay, you’re absolutely out of luck as their prices pretty much match StubHub’s.

The original price of those tickets was in the $500 to $1,500, so why does this happen? Two words: ticket brokers. According to ESPN, “many brokers promise the tickets in advance figuring they’ll be able to make a healthy profit as the event draws closer. In order to “short” the market, a broker typically lists tickets in a generic section of the stadium and doesn’t disclose exactly where the seats are until the Wednesday before the game, when sites such as StubHub and Vivid Seats require the brokers to choose exact seat locations or cancel the sale. The idea for the brokers is to take money from ticket buyers when the tickets are at a higher price after the conference title games, then actually buy the tickets days later as the prices start to come down.”

One could also blame obsessed fans who go to extreme lengths to get those tickets, even if it means borrowing money.

The way I see it, it’s much better to watch it at home, mostly because it’s being aired for free. If you don’t have a cable TV or satellite subscription, you can still get an HDTV antenna and watch it on ABC. Seriously, unless you’re made of money I don’t understand why you’d want to be there, uncomfortable, sharing restrooms with obnoxious people, and paying ridiculous prices for food.

The bottom line is we need a consumer protection agency to step in and make sure ticket brokers don’t shift the ticket market in such a way that it’s impossible for the average fan to watch their favorite sport.

By the way, you don’t need a 4K Ultra HD TV to watch the game, so save your money and get a regular-but-still-awesome HDTV. They’re not broadcasting the game in 4K, and watching a 720p or 1080p tame on a 4K HDTV won’t make it any better.