Surprising Ticket Trends for NFL Championship Sunday
The NFL postseason has reached its final four, as a pair of teams look to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Since 2018, one thing in life is certain: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs playing in the AFC Championship Game. Sunday will be their seventh consecutive appearance—and sixth time hosting—as they eye a historic third straight Lombardi Trophy. Standing in the way are Josh Allen and the Bills.
The Eagles have become playoff mainstays of their own behind Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni: They’ll be playing in their second NFC Championship Game in four seasons. To reach the Caesars Superdome, they’ll have to hold off Rookie of the Year runaway Jayden Daniels and the Commanders, who have made their first postseason since 2020 and first conference title game since 1991.
This week, Front Office Sports takes you through all the biggest ticketing storylines of Championship Sunday, according to data from TickPick, a leading North American ticket marketplace.
Divisional
Rival Drama
The expectations are high for the Eagles to reach the Super Bowl. First, a 14-win season behind an eye-popping year from Saquon Barkley; then, two straight home playoff wins over the Packers and Eagles. The Commanders, their NFC East foe, have nothing to lose.
Washington has completed one of the NFL’s greatest turnarounds in the second year of a new owner and rookie year of a franchise quarterback. After scoring the fifth-most points per game in the regular season, the Commanders upset the Buccaneers and No. 1 seed Lions on the road to break a 33-year title game drought.
Fans are shelling out at record pace for this unexpected NFL Championship showdown. According to TickPick, this weekend’s conference title game is the most expensive on record with an average purchase price of $1,279—a whopping 32% more expensive than last season’s Lions-49ers game ($966).
Philadelphia Price Tags
Philly fans unequivocally love their Eagles, which is reflected in the historic price of Sunday’s game. But the average purchase price makes this only the ninth-most expensive event to take place in Pennsylvania and pales in comparison to a certain pop star and the Fall Classic.
Kansas City
Déjà Vu
You’ve probably heard this one before: The Chiefs are one win from a Super Bowl appearance. Kansas City hardly looked like world-beaters this season (22.6 points per game, 15th), but they rattled off a 15-2 record to earn the AFC’s top seed and a first-round bye, then made relatively easy work of the Texans in the Divisional Round.
The Bills, behind their typically high-powered offense (30.9 PPG, 2nd), clinched their fifth straight AFC East title, then beat the Broncos and Ravens at home the last two weeks. Sunday is only their second conference championship of the Josh Allen era: In January 2021, they went into Arrowhead and lost by two touchdowns.
For all the hype of this modern rivalry, this isn’t even the most expensive AFC Championship on record, according to TickPick. In fact, it barely cracks the top five. Its $500 average purchase price is 72% less expensive than last season’s Ravens-Chiefs game ($862).
The Mahomes Effect
Patrick Mahomes will be playing in his 20th postseason contest. For the Chiefs to become the first team in history to win three straight Super Bowls, they must win on their home field first. Still, among all of Mahomes’s playoff games—excluding his four SB appearances—Sunday’s matchup is only the third-most expensive.
Mahomes vs Allen
Part IV
The best quarterback rivalry is deadlocked at 4-4; however, Allen has gone 4-1 in the regular season, while Mahomes has gone 3-0 in the playoffs. Sunday’s latest installment is still 41% less expensive than the 2021 AFC Championship, when the Chiefs knocked out the Bills in this exact game.
Championship Purchase Geography
Here’s a look at which states make up the highest percentage of ticket billing for the NFC and AFC title games, according to data from TickPick:
