As the season kicks into full gear, ticket prices for college football are shooting up. TickPick data shows that the average purchase price for CFB games in 2024 is $168—
2021
2022
2023
2024
Zooming out...
Average ticket prices
$168
$128
$135
$125
25%
30%
35%
20%
15%
10%
05%
0%
%
%
78.2
%
17.9
Trend Report: Chiefs-Chargers, Tobacco Road Rivalry, Nebraska Sellout Streak
By Front Office Sports
Published September 26, 2024
Share
It’s football season—which means the rush to get tickets is on.
According to data from TickPick, a leading North American ticket marketplace, some games will prove to be wallet-busters, climbing into the four figures, especially for the biggest matchups and rivalries. But there are plenty of major deals on the marketplace, even for the biggest events.
Front Office Sports takes you through the biggest storylines in ticketing right now, and how much it costs to
get through the gate to some of football’s headlining matchups.
You can always count on Angelenos to show up to see stars. The Chargers game against the Chiefs on Sunday, Sept. 29 will kick off late afternoon in LA—and with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the possible appearance of Taylor Swift, the game promises to be a who’s-who sporting event the city is craving.
TickPick data shows this game against the Chiefs is the second-most expensive Chargers home game on record. It’s also the priciest-ever Chargers-Chiefs matchup held in LA. The average purchase price has hit $227. That is 10% more than the Chargers home average purchase price ($206).
The Kansas City celebrity effect is definitely inflating prices—the current get-in price is $132, which is 109% more expensive than the price of the Chargers’ next home game against the Saints ($63). Californians themselves are scooping up tickets to the Chiefs matchup at staggering rates: 38% of all purchases have come from California, more than 21% coming from Kansas and Missouri.
LA Market Is Shelling Out
ChaRGERS VS CHIEFS
On Saturday, the storied Tobacco Road rivalry is back in action in the Old North State.
Duke and North Carolina—the ACC’s biggest foes, and arguably one of the most heated rivalries in sports—will meet on the field in Durham this Saturday, Sept 28.
On paper, these intrastate rivals are evenly matched. Duke comes into Saturday’s home matchup with a 4–0 record, with the Tar Heels right behind at 3–1. Both teams went 8–5 last season, smack in the middle of the ACC, a year after they finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference’s Coastal division.
For UNC-Duke, the current get-in price (the cheapest ticket available) is $84, with the average purchase price at $93. That’s actually a bargain—last year’s average purchase price, when the game was held at Chapel Hill, was $175, more than 61% higher. Fans at that game were treated to a double-overtime barnburner, with UNC edging out Duke 47-45.
Even with the good deals for this marquee matchup, there are cheaper tickets in town for football fans. A couple hours south down I-85 to Charlotte, the Panthers return to Bank of America Stadium Sunday for their second home game this season. A seat will cost you just $74—10% less than the Tobacco Road matchup.
The 2–1 Panthers are coming off some tumult after dropping their first two games, then benching last year’s first pick Bryce Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton, who finally picked up a win for Carolina. The Panthers will host the 0–3 Cincinnati Bengals, and look to even their record. Dalton is hoping to lead the Panthers to another win over his old team—the QB played for the Bengals for nine years—and this’ll be the fourth time he’s played against them, for four different teams.
Perhaps the momentum coming off Dalton’s start is giving fans some hope: The average purchase price for this game is a respectable $153, which is $48 more than they spent for the team’s home opener against the Chargers, and more than the season average of $134.
CHARLOTTE
DURHAM
North Carolina’s Got the Action
MATCHUPS IN DURHAM & CHARLOTTE
The Get-In
COLLEGE
4 ALABAMA-GEORGIA 2
$323
Saturday, September 28th, 7:30PM
Bryant-Denny Stadium
COLLEGE
$3
TULANE-SOUTH FLORIDA
Saturday, September 28th, 12:00PM
Yulman Stadium
NFL
$251
PACKERS-VIKINGS
Sunday, September 29th, 1:00PM
Lambeau Field
NFL
$25
CARDINALS-COMMANDERS
Sunday, September 29th, 4:05PM
State Farm Stadium
BIGGEST
What it takes to get through the gates this week if you’re willing to spend big or looking to save.
Click each ticket to reveal the matchup
"THE CELEBRITY EFFECT"
$132
$63
CHARGERS' NExt home game
TAYLOR IN attendance?
Steal of the Week
No. 15 Louisville is set to square off against No. 16 Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend. The Cardinals are looking for their second-straight 4–0 start after finishing second in the ACC in 2023. The Fighting Irish are aiming to avenge a 20–33 loss at Louisville last season and avoid falling to 1–2 at home.
Fans can get in for $62. If they’re patient, they might save a few more bucks—TickPick shows the get-in price may snake below $60.
Saturday, September 28th, 3:30PM
Bryant-Denny Stadium
Louisville at Notre Dame
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are one of the most storied programs in the history of college football, with five national championships. Over a five-year stretch in the 1990s, they went 60–3 and won three titles, marking one of the most dominant runs by any school in the sport.
Although the Huskers’ last title was in 1997 and they have not finished a campaign as a ranked team since 2012, nothing has deterred fans from showing up in Lincoln: Going back to 1962, Nebraska has sold out Memorial Stadium 400 consecutive times—the longest home sellout streak in the history of college sports.
This season, fans are all in on keeping the streak going—especially after the Huskers’ strong start to the season that put them at 3–0. TickPick shows ticketing demand—and prices—has surged since Nebraska’s Week 2 win over Colorado: 60% of tickets for the following week’s game against No. 24 Illinois were purchased after the win over Colorado, and the average purchase price before the season started was $78, compared to $156 following the Nebraska-Colorado game.
When Saturday’s game against Illinois kicked off, tickets were the most expensive on record for all matchups between the two teams. TickPick data shows the average purchase price was $127—a whopping 296% more expensive than the average purchase price of the same game last season ($32).
Their undefeated season did not continue, as they fell to the Fighting Illini. Yet despite the loss, the average purchase price for all remaining Nebraska home games is up 48% compared to all sales prior to the game ($97 to $144); the current “get-in” price* is $115—a 297% increase since the start of the season ($29).
*The reason the get-in price is higher than the average purchase price is that many tickets were bought before the season at a significantly lower get-in price.
Nebraska Smashed Records
TICKETS TRENDING UP for THE cornhuskers
60%
60% of Nebraska's Week 3 tickets were purchased after the Week 2 win over Colorado.
$78
Average Nebraska ticket price before the season began
$156
Average Nebraska ticket price after the win over Colorado
a 31% increase from 2023 ($128).
PRESENTED BY
GET-IN PRICES ON TICKPICK at the time of publish
EXPLORE NOTRE DAME TICKETS ON TICKPICK
EXPLORE LOUISVILLE TICKETS ON TICKPICK
$74
$84
No Hidden Fees. More Savings.