DALLAS — Jerry Jones may have drawn the ire of Dallas Cowboys fans this offseason by raising ticket prices at AT&T Stadium, but the cost to see America's Team is still relatively cheap compared to the rest of the NFL.
According to new data from The Action Network, the average price for a Cowboys home game ticket increased from $66.12 to $99.50 over the past 15 years, a 50% increase. The increase may seem significant to Metroplex fans who remember the transition from Texas Stadium to then-Cowboys Stadium in the 2009 offseason, but the increase overall is the seventh-lowest in the NFL over the same span, 2006-21.
The most expensive tickets can be found with the Las Vegas Raiders. Fans were paying $62.23 to see the Silver and Black in 2006 and are now paying $153.47 on average for a ticket, a 147% increase. In the same span, the Raiders have been to the playoffs twice (2016, 2021) with no postseason victories to show for it.
Among teams in the bottom-10 of price increases, the most bang for the buck is with the New England Patriots. With prices going from $90.89 to $131.45 from 2006-21, a 45% increase, fans at Gillette Stadium were able to witness the Patriots win three Super Bowls (2014, 2016, 2018), including New England winning the AFC Championship Game five times at Gillette Stadium (2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017). No doubt the Patriots were the most expensive ticket when the study started as New England was two years removed from winning three more Super Bowls in a four-year span.
The team with the lowest price increase is the New York Jets. Fans paid $74.96 on average to watch the Jets at Giants Stadium in 2006 and paid $94.16 on average in 2021, a 26% increase. The Jets managed to make the playoffs three times (2006, 2009, 2010) and win four playoff games in that span.
The cheapest tickets in 2021 were at SoFi Stadium where Los Angeles Chargers fans were paying $80.38 on average. Even with the move from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to Inglewood, Chargers' fans saw a 28% increase in ticket prices over the past 15 years, the second-lowest on the list.
With the Cowboys remaining in the bottom-10 in terms of ticket price increases, it shows that Jones has been able to win off the field when it comes to affordability of a ticket to AT&T Stadium. Fans would surely do anything — including paying a little extra for a seat in Arlington — if it meant the Cowboys at least made an NFC Championship Game appearance for the first time since 1996.
Do you plan on attending Cowboys games in 2022? Share your thoughts on ticket prices with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
