Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explain both cross-sectional differences in ticket prices across teams and causes for the size and direction of seasonal price increases in the National Football League (NFL). Based upon NFL data from 1996-2001, it appears that playing in a new stadium, previous year's success, fan income levels, and population size are important determinants of cross-sectional differences in average ticket prices across teams. Similarly, playing in the first year of a new stadium, a change in win percentage from the previous year, reaching the conference championship game, and the size of the previous year's ticket price increase are important determinants of seasonal increases in average ticket prices for a given team over time. Neither the size of team payroll nor seasonal changes in team payroll significantly impacted ticket prices or seasonal ticket price increases across teams. This result is not inconsistent with the possibility that salary caps explain why team payrolls do not impact ticket prices in football.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.