When the Chargers start the preseason against the Seahawks on Sunday night the fans who attend the first Los Angeles Chargers game since 1960 will be paying a pretty penny to participate.
According to research from TickPick, a resale ticket entity much like StubHub (the company that has its name on the facility the Chargers are calling home for the next three years), the Bolts have the 5th-most expensive preseason ticket in the NFL in 2017.
The two exhibition games in Carson will run fans an average of $135.99 per seat, a hefty price for an exhibition outing that will not feature a whole lot of star power. Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn has already said starting quarterback Philip Rivers will only play a single series against Seattle then let the backups take over.
Apparently playing in a venue that is less than half the size of their old haunt has the Chargers hiking up prices even if they admit they’re not really trying to win the game.
“When you’re shrinking the size of the venue that much you’re going to need to increase the pricing regardless of the product on the field,” said Jack Slingland from TickPick.
The only four teams with higher exhibition game prices all have legitimate playoff aspirations and a recent history of playing into January. The most expensive preseason tickets belong to the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots ($207), followed by the Broncos ($201), Seahawks ($174) and Texans ($142).
The cheapest preseason tickets can be found in Buffalo, where the Bills are only asking an average of $16 to watch backups play.
In 2016 the average Chargers preseason ticket was going for $52, meaning we’re looking at about a 260% markup in their first season in a smaller venue. One of the things the Bolts have been touting is the “intimate setting” of the StubHub Center and its attendance cap of 30,000. Put another way, the team is saying that unlike cavernous Qualcomm Stadium there really is not a bad seat in the house. Still, the worst seat in 2017 is going to be expensive.
“The get-in price (lowest price for any available seat) for either of the Chargers preseason games, so that’s the Seahawks and the Saints, are at $60 for the Seahawks and $46 for the Saints,” said Slingland.
That means the cheapest seat for the exhibition opener is $8 more expensive than the AVERAGE price of 2016’s preseason home games against the Cardinals and 49ers.
Here is a look at all 32 NFL teams and their preseason ticket prices according to TickPick:
32) Buffalo Bills $16.37
31) Indianapolis Colts $30.68
30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers $33.02
29) Miami Dolphins $34.80
28) New York Jets $34.96
27) Cincinnati Bengals $36.33
26) Cleveland Browns $36.94
25) New Orleans Saints $43.26
24) San Francisco 49ers $52.60
23) Kansas City Chiefs $55.84
22) Minnesota Vikings $56.24
21) Jacksonville Jaguars $56.89
20) Pittsburgh Steelers $61.95
19) Dallas Cowboys $75.35
18) Oakland Raiders $77.05
17) Washington Redskins $80.84
16) Arizona Cardinals $81.70
15) Baltimore Ravens $83.50
14) Chicago Bears $84.74
13) Green Bay Packers $89.39
12) Philadelphia Eagles $91.76
11) Tennessee Titans $94.02
10) Carolina Panthers $107.90
9) Atlanta Falcons $110.24
8) Los Angeles Rams $110.42
7) New York Giants $112.68
6) Detroit Lions $117.38
5) Los Angeles Chargers $135.99
4) Houston Texans $142.67
3) Seattle Seahawks $174.14
2) Denver Broncos $201.44
1) New England Patriots $207.48
