We all know how I feel about the NFL and the Public Seat License sham foisted upon season ticket holders.  I got my playoff ticket invoice from the Chicago Bears last week and I noticed a section they labeled “Important Information For PSL Owners” (which I am not).

“Section 4 of the Permanent Seat License (PSL) Agreement Terms and Conditions provides that any PSL for which tickets are not purchased for all possible home playoff games is subject to termination.  Upon termination of a PSL, all PSL fees previously paid to the Lakefront Improvement Fund or to the Chicago Bears are forfeited, and the season ticket associated with the PSL is also terminated.”

Basically what they’re saying is, in addition to the thousands of dollars you paid simply for the RIGHT to purchase season tickets for your seat, if you don’t buy every playoff game offered to you we will keep your money AND take away your season tickets (which you probably waited, on average, a decade to even get).  Obviously anyone who is a PSL holder would supposedly know this up front when buying those seats, but it is a harsh, albeit legal, penalty.  Since I’m sure most PSL seats are purchased by either corporations or above-average-income families, I’m sure most people don’t care, but it’s one more step towards making the average fan attending a game obsolete.

Consider this – my non-PSL seats are some of the cheapest in the stadium at $60 a piece.  Take 2 tickets and multiply that by 10 games (oh yes, you pay full price for 2 preseason games) and the cheapest option available is $1,200 a year.  Since there’s a decade-long waiting list, they can (and probably should) charge as much as possible but it sure does throw up some stumbling blocks for Joe Six-Pack.

I’m sure all sports hike up their prices immensely during the playoffs and prices are mandated by the league, not the team.  For my $60 seats, the Wild Card or Divisional Playoff game makes it a $95 ticket.  If the Bears advance to the NFC Championship game, that price is hiked to $130 per seat, making the total price for 2 games $450 – more than one third of my regular season ticket cost. 

An interesting note is that the rate increase as a percentage decreases sizably based on the cost of a regular season ticket for that seat.  The most expensive regular season ticket seat, $340, “only” costs $375 for the Wild Card or Divisional Playoff game and $410 for the NFC Championship.  I’m rotten at math so please correct me if I’m wrong, but check this out.  For the Wild Card / Divisional game, my ticket is marked up about 58% while the most expensive ticket goes up about 10%.  For the NFC Championship, my ticket is marked up over 216% while the $340 ticket holder enjoys a relatively low 21% markup.

Want to know the part that makes me smile the most?  The $3 Handling Fee they tack onto my already-jacked-up ticket price.  God forbid they swallow $3 a seat for “processing” my order. 

This isn’t meant to be a rant against the Bears or the NFL.  It’s a case of supply and demand and the public’s unsatiated thirst for pro football.