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The Bears are raising season-ticket prices by an average of 10% for the upcoming season, team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in an email to season-ticket holders Wednesday.
Chicago raised prices by an average of 8% ahead of last season, but that was when the team was full of hope for rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, and six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen acquired through a trade. The team found its rhythm winning four of its first six games, but things took a turn with a disastrous Hail Mary pass in a loss to Washington, and the Bears never recovered. They lost all remaining games except their final one against the rival Packers.
The Bears have a new coach in Ben Johnson and the No. 10 pick in the draft, but the season-ticket price hike is much less justified by buzz and hype than it was at this point last year.
“There should be a rule that football teams can’t increase the average ticket price percentage more than the number of wins they had the season before. Bears had 5 wins last year so the average percent increase should be no more than 5,” Brendan Sugrue, who covers the team for USA Today’s Bears Wire, posted on social media after the news.
Warren cited “market dynamics, industry trends, and a strong home schedule” as reasons for the ticket increase. The strong home schedule could be attributed to the fact that the Bears were the only team in the NFC North that missed the playoffs this past season. The Bears are also set to host the Browns, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, and Steelers.
“The future is bright, and I am confident we are on target to build the Chicago Bears into a championship-caliber franchise celebrating sustained success our fans have earned and deserve,” Warren wrote. “Please know that your energy creates a home field advantage that is the best in sports. We need you to stand tall with our franchise and our players.”
The Lions also said in December they will raise season-ticket prices for the second straight year. After an average 30% increase following the 2023 season, prices will rise another average of 24% next season.
The Bears are one of only a handful of teams remaining in the NFL whose owners are not wealthy business people with a side interest in sports; their fortunes come from the team. Chicago’s owners are descendants of NFL cofounder George Halas. Virginia Halas McCaskey died earlier this month after serving as the team’s owner since 1983.
The Bears last made the playoffs in the 2020 season and last won a playoff game in the 2010 season.
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