NFL Inflation: Tracking NFL Ticket, Beer, and Concessions Prices Over Time

Between new stadiums, ownership changes, and player salaries, the economics of football are changing from the top down. For fans, this means increased costs to both see NFL games in person and watch their favorite NFL teams on TV.

To see exactly how prices have risen for NFL fans and to make it easier for them to know how to manage their money and budget for their next trip to the stadium, our research team at FinanceBuzz compared the average costs of attending an NFL game in person (including tickets, food, beer, and parking) for each team over the past decade. 

We also pulled SeatGeek data to get an initial look at the 2025-2026 season and which teams' prices might be going up even more.

Key findings

• On average, the cost of going to an NFL game has gone up $45 (40%) in the last 10 years.
• Since 2014, the per-person cost for two people to attend a home game (including tickets, one beer, one hot dog, and parking) has risen by 201% for fans of the Detroit Lions, which is the biggest increase in the league. Costs also more than doubled for the Las Vegas Raiders (178%), Buffalo Bills (105%), and Miami Dolphins (103%).
• The average costs to attend home games for the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, and Los Angeles Rams have also nearly doubled, rising between 95% and 98% since 2014.
• The Washington Commanders have raised beer prices more than any other team, going from $6.55 for a 16-ounce pour in 2014 to $16.49 in 2024, which is a 152% increase.

Prices of tickets, concessions, and parking increased 40% in the last 10 years

To figure out how much it costs to go to an NFL game, we looked up prices of four things:

• Tickets: We pulled average price data for a single ticket.
• Beer: We pulled the price of a 16-oz Bud/Coors/Miller light or equivalent.
• Hot Dogs: We found the average price of a standard hot dog.
• Parking: We assumed that most people go to games with someone else, so we pulled parking costs and split them in two.

On average, the cost to attend an NFL game in 2024 was $158 across the league, which is a 40% increase since 2014. Largely, this had to do with ticket prices increasing with demand. For instance, Lions fans may not have had much to celebrate in 2014 (when the cost was just $92), while in 2024, costs were a league-high $277 (when the team was a Super Bowl contender).

In the table below, you'll find all 32 teams, along with the increase in costs since 2014.

The game day experience for Detroit Lions fans has gotten the most expensive since 2014, going from an average of $92 per person that year to $277 in 2024. That's an increase of more than 200%, the biggest jump in the league.

The team's on-field success is certainly the main contributing factor in this price hike, as the Lions won the NFC North for the first time in team history in 2023 and then got even better in 2024, securing the best record in the NFC during the regular season. That high-level success following decades of largely mediocre play excited the fanbase and drove ticket demand and prices through the roof for fans looking to get into a game at Ford Field.

In 2014, the Raiders played in an aging stadium in Oakland, California. However, by 2024, the team had moved into one of the newest and most expensive stadiums in the NFL, located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The move to a new city and a new stadium has made Raiders tickets some of the most expensive in the NFL in recent seasons. It's no surprise that the total cost of the gameday experience has jumped by 178% for Raiders fans, which is the second-biggest increase of any team.

Two more teams have seen the cost of attending a game more than double in the last decade, and both play in the AFC East. Bills fans can expect to pay 105% more to attend a game now than 10 years ago, while Miami Dolphins fans are looking at a 103% increase. In both cases, recent on-field success helps to explain the increase in costs.

Where NFL experiences are getting less expensive

As with most things in the U.S., rising prices for NFL games aren't exactly news to many. As the cost of goods has risen over the last decade, more Americans are looking for ways to save money, better ways to budget, and ways to earn more money for the things they want. Of note, however, is that not all fanbases have seen drastic increases in prices, and some have even lowered their prices relative to inflation.

Costs to attend a New Orleans Saints game have decreased by 41% since 2014, going from an average cost of $117 in 2014 to just $69 in 2024. While not quite as drastic, the gameday experience fell by 20% for Arizona Cardinals fans from 2014 to 2024, and 12% for New England Patriots supporters. 

It is worth noting that a significant factor in reduced costs relating to the Patriots is that the team began offering free parking in 2023 (and even offering a "get paid to park" option for fans willing to wait in the stadium and leave later than others), which means an expense that used to cost $40 per vehicle can now be spent on other things.

Overall, half the league (16 teams) raised prices at a rate greater than the national rate of inflation (32%) since 2014, seven teams saw prices decrease compared to a decade ago, and nine teams raised costs but did so at a rate slower than inflation. The average price increase across the entire league from 2014 to 2024 was 40%.

NFL ticket prices continue to rise for the 2025-2026 season

When it comes to saving money on the NFL experience, there's no bigger line item than the cost of entry. The average ticket to an NFL game was $125 during the 2024-2025 season. To get a sense of how the 2025-2026 season might look, we pulled "get-in" pricing (the lowest prices on SeatGeek, typically in the upper decks) for every team's home opener.

Unsurprisingly, there's a lot to celebrate in Philadelphia this September with the City of Brotherly Love embracing their Super Bowl Champion Eagles. The Eagles have the highest opening-day ticket price in the entire NFL, with tickets starting at $538 at the time of this writing (two weeks before kickoff). Other NFC hopefuls, the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears, also rank among the most expensive home openers in the NFL.

On the other end of the spectrum, the New Orleans Saints have the lowest opening ticket prices of any team, largely thanks to the retirement of their quarterback Derek Carr and their massive stadium size. Similarly, their NFC South "rival" the Carolina Panthers rank second for cheapest home-opener tickets.

As mentioned, tickets typically make up the largest chunk of costs associated with attending an NFL game in person, so major changes to ticket prices can really impact a fan's bottom line.

Looking strictly at ticket prices, the Raiders' ticket prices increased more than any team in the league. In 2014, a Raiders home ticket cost just $65, while in 2024, fans were looking at an average cost of $243, an increase of 275%. Their new home city and new stadium played major roles in that change.

On-field success tends to increase demand and pricing for tickets, and the list of teams where ticket prices rose the most in the last decade speaks to that phenomenon. The Lions were the best team in the NFC in 2024, so it comes as no surprise that ticket prices increased by nearly 250% compared to 2014.

Similarly, the Buffalo Bills have been seen as a true Super Bowl contender for the last handful of seasons and finished 13-4 last year with one of the best records in the league. They also saw ticket costs jump up by 137% compared to 2014. Just behind the Bills in terms of ticket price hikes at 127% are last year's Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, once again showing how much winning football can impact ticket prices.

NFL teams where beer prices have risen the most

Enjoying a beer at the game is an integral part of the game-day experience for many NFL fans, but it costs more in some stadiums than others.

The Washington Commanders charge more than a dollar per ounce of beer, as a 16-ounce domestic draft came with an astounding $16.49 price tag in 2024, an increase of nearly $10 and 152% compared to 2014.

Only two other teams more than doubled beer prices in the last decade. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers raised beer prices by 137%, while the Los Angeles Rams increased them by 133%. It is worth noting, however, that both of those teams won a Super Bowl in that time frame, and the Rams also moved to a brand-new stadium (going from St. Louis to Los Angeles).

How to combat rising ticket prices

While ticket prices aren't always in fans' control, there are some ways fans can save on attending in person.

For instance, the secondary market can sometimes actually offer lower-priced tickets than buying directly from teams. While prices on sites like StubHub and SeatGeek will always be a function of supply and demand, ticket prices can be lowered (often below face value) by factors like the popularity of a visiting team, injuries to star players, or even the weather. There's also data that shows NFL ticket prices significantly decrease closer to game time.

Whether you're buying directly from the team or on the secondary market, using a cash back credit card can help offset some ticket costs and fees. Similarly, some travel credit cards may offer credits or rewards for rideshares (like Uber and Lyft) to games, putting something extra in your pocket while also saving you the cost of a parking pass.

Lastly, in the event you're unable to go to a game, there are plenty of ways to stream NFL games from home even if they're out of market.

Manage your game day spending

• Tackle your finances throughout the entire season. Beat inflation with a high-yield savings account and earn at least 3.5% APY.
• Make extra cash from your new football merch. Certain cash back credit cards offer generous welcome offers and won't charge you an annual fee.
• Earn points on your stadium trips. Whether you're a season pass holder or someone who goes to a tailgate every once in a while, you should benefit from your travel. One way to earn high rewards is by signing up for a gas credit card.

Methodology

2014 pricing data for all items was collected from the 2014 version of the NFL Fan Cost Index, which was compiled by Team Marketing Report. Team Marketing Report did not release a 2024 Fan Cost Index, and as a result, the 2024 data for beer prices comes from a study compiled by 93.5/107.5 The Fan. Parking costs come via Map Stadiums, and ticket and hot dog prices come from Seat Geek and Cheapism via SportsCasting.com.

As a note, ticket data from Team Marketing Report was traditionally based on the average face-value ticket price as reported by the individual teams, while Seat Geek ticket data is based on secondary market ticket sales data compiled at the end of the 2024 regular season. While these are slightly different metrics, when comparing the 10-year ticket price changes in the 2013 and 2023 TMR reports to the same changes between the 2014 TMR Report and 2024 Seat Geek data, the league-wide average change was very similar in both cases.

Inflation rates are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI Inflation Calculator.

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