19-05-2025
Colts issue warning to season-ticket holders who put too many tickets on resale market
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts issued a warning to some season-ticket holders last week, two days before the release of the 2025 schedule.
Indianapolis sent a letter to season-ticket holders who listed or resold tickets for most of the team's games in 2024 with a warning that putting too many tickets on the market again in 2025 could cost the fan their ability to renew their season tickets in 2026.
No action will be taken toward a fan's 2025 tickets.
'The policy is designed to ensure that tickets are used by genuine fans who will be present at our games, and to prevent the exploitation of our ticketing system,' the letter read.
The Colts provided a copy of the letter to IndyStar.
The policy is not new. Indianapolis has issued the letters for the past several seasons, and the team noted that there are many NFL teams that have the same policy. ESPN, the outlet that first reported the Colts' policy, also reported that the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have similar policies, and the Green Bay Packers declined to renew the accounts of season-ticket holders who have sold all of their tickets multiple seasons in a row.
For the Colts, the goal is to make sure the team's fans have access to reasonably priced tickets by preventing outside parties from buying up season tickets solely for the purpose of turning them on the secondary market at a much higher price.
The NFL does have partnerships with secondary-market ticket vendors, but this falls outside of that category. The Colts haven't had trouble selling season tickets. Indianapolis established the Forever Blue waitlist in June of 2024 for those fans who wanted season tickets but couldn't get any before they had all been sold.
'While the ability to re-sell tickets is a benefit to all members, those that are purchasing tickets for the sole purpose of re-sale and choose to re-sell most of their tickets are in violation of this policy,' the letter read.
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The effects of the resale market could be felt palpably in Indianapolis in 2024, the product of a schedule full of Colts home games against teams with massive fan bases within relatively easy driving distance of Indianapolis.
Fans of the Bears, Steelers, Lions and Bills bought up large chunks of tickets on the resale market, making their presence felt in Lucas Oil Stadium in a big way.
But those games did not prompt the letter. Indianapolis, like a lot of NFL teams, has been trying to find ways to ensure that most of their tickets end up in the hands of Colts fans for a while now.
