Latest news with #ticketresale
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
NFL hit with Super Bowl scandal: Around 100 players facing bans
At least 100 NFL players, as well as coaches and staff from around half of the 32 teams, have been accused of violating league rules by selling their Super Bowl tickets for above face value. That is according to a report Friday, which said an NFL investigation found that some employees and players flogged their tickets to a 'small number of "bundlers"' who were working with a reseller to sell them for inflated fees. All NFL players are allowed to buy two tickets at face value. This year, when the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas in New Orleans, prices reportedly ranged from $950 to $7,500. On resale sites, however, some tickets were going for close to $57,000. The average price of a Super Bowl ticket in the final weeks leading up to the game was $8,076, according to CBS. ESPN claims the players face a possible fine and could be suspended if they refuse to pay. They will also lose the right to their allotted tickets to the next two Super Bowls, unless they are playing in the game, in which case they will have the opportunity to buy seats. No specific players, coaches, or teams who violated the policy were named, but some people have already shelled out to avoid missing playing time, according to ESPN. Players violating the agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association around the resale of Super Bowl tickets are reportedly subject to penalties including fines of one-and-a-half times the face value of the tickets. Other team employees who violated the policy will reportedly be fined two times the face value of the tickets. According to reports, those players and employees who had a 'greater role' — by working directly with the 'bundlers,' for instance — 'will face increased penalties.' 'Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket's face value in violation of the policy,' read a memo, sent to teams by the NFL — and cited by ESPN. 'This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket's face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less.' 'We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of "bundlers" who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.' The NFL also insists it will be enhancing 'mandatory compliance training regarding the Policy' for all personnel, which will emphasize that 'no one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of our fans.' 'We will also increase the penalties for future violations of this Policy,' the league memo adds. 'All clubs must ensure their personnel understand and comply with this policy. Additional details regarding the enhanced compliance measures will be provided in early fall.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
NFL rocked by Super Bowl scandal with around 100 players facing possible suspension
At least 100 NFL players, as well as coaches and staff from around half of the 32 teams, have been accused of violating league rules by selling their Super Bowl tickets for above face-value. That is according to a report Friday, which said an NFL investigation found that some employees and players flogged their tickets to a 'small number of "bundlers"' who were working with a reseller to sell them for inflated fees. All NFL players are allowed to buy two tickets at face-value. This year, when the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas in New Orleans, prices reportedly ranged from $950 to $7,500. On resale sites, however, some tickets were going for more than $10,000. ESPN claims the players face a possible fine and could be suspended if they refuse to pay. They will also lose the right to their allotted tickets to the next two Super Bowls. Unless they are playing in the game, in which case they will have the opportunity to buy seats. No specific players, coaches or teams who violated the policy were named but some people have already shelled out, to avoid missing playing time, according to ESPN. Players violating the agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association around the re-sale of Super Bowl tickets are reportedly subject to penalties including fines of one-and-a-half-times the face value of the tickets. Other team employees who violated the policy will reportedly be fined two times the face value of the tickets. According to reports, those players and employees who had a 'greater role' - by working directly with the 'bundlers', for instance - 'will face increased penalties' 'Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket's face value in violation of the policy," read a memo, sent to teams by the NFL - and cited by ESPN. 'This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket's face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NFL players, employees fined for selling Super Bowl tickets: reports
More than 100 NFL players and dozens of club employees are to be fined or suspended for selling their allocations of tickets for this year's Super Bowl on secondary markets, US media reported on Friday. ESPN reported that players who sold allotted tickets will be fined one-and-a-half times the face value of the tickets sold and be barred from receiving tickets to the next two editions of the Super Bowl. Players amongst those caught will be given the option of purchasing tickets if their team reaches the Super Bowl in 2026 or 2027. Players who decline to pay the fines face being suspended, ESPN cited league and union sources as saying. ESPN quoted an NFL memo sent to teams which said employees and players had sold tickets to "bundlers" working with a ticket resale site. Tickets to the Super Bowl are consistently one of the hottest -- and most expensive -- tickets in North American sport, fetching as much as $10,000 on resale sites. "Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket's face value in violation of the policy," NFL chief compliance officer Sabrina Perel wrote in the memo. Perel cited "long-standing league policy" which "prohibits League or club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket's face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less." Perel added that the league will enhance mandatory training before Super Bowl LX for all league personnel to emphasize the rules and "the broader principle that no one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of our fans." The league, meanwhile, also planned to improve training to avoid a repeat, with the possibility of stiffer sanctions for future offenses. "No one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of our fans," Perel wrote in the memo. rcw/js
Reuters
5 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Report: More than 100 players face fines for re-selling SB tickets
July 25 - At least 100 players, as well as coaches and other team personnel from approximately half the teams in the NFL, allegedly sold their Super Bowl tickets for above face-value in violation of league policies, ESPN reported Friday. According to a memo sent to all 32 NFL teams and reviewed by ESPN, an investigation by the league found that some "club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of 'bundlers' who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value." Players violating the agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association around the re-sale of Super Bowl tickets are reportedly subject to penalties including fines of 1 1/2 times the face value of the tickets. Other team employees who violated the policy will reportedly be fined two times the face value of the tickets. The memo stated that those found to have bundled tickets would face steeper fines, according to Sports Illustrated. Face value of tickets to February's Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs reportedly ranged from $950 to $7,500, while prices on secondary sites ranged from $2,588 to nearly $3,500 on the low end to over $10,000, with the average price of a Super Bowl ticket being $8,076 in the final weeks leading up to the game, according to CBS. Players could be suspended if they refuse to pay the fines, per ESPN. Some players have reportedly already paid the fines to avoid missing playing time. In addition to fines, players breaking the rule will reportedly also lose the right to their allotted tickets to the next two Super Bowls. No specific players, coaches or teams who violated the policy were identified in the report by ESPN. --Field Level Media
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
NFL fines 100 players for Super Bowl ticket scalping
The NFL has fined 100 players and two dozen club officials for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value, according to reports. While players and officials are allowed to sell tickets at face value, they are banned from doing so at inflated prices. The face value price for Super Bowl tickets for the clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, which included a half-time performance by Kendrick Lamar, earlier this year, varied between $950 and $7,500 each. However, the average resale price hit $10,417 on ticketing websites. The minimum salary for a 'rookie' NFL player is understood to be around $750,000 a year. But once established, their annual pay packet can hit $5m, with superstars – often quarterbacks – frequently earning twice as much. Details of the clandestine transactions followed an investigation by the NFL. 'The investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of 'bundlers' who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value,' Sabrina Perel, the head of compliance at the NFL, wrote in a memo. Players who touted tickets will be fined one and a half times the face value of the ticket and banned from buying any for the 2026 Super Bowl, unless their team is competing. Officials will be fined double the face value of the tickets. However, the move merely scratches the surface of a flourishing industry in reselling tickets to major sporting and entertainment events. Resell market worth $3.4bn According to industry estimates, the resale market, which is legal in the US, was worth $3.4bn last year. The practice is controversial with some companies using 'bots' – computerised programmes – to hoover up thousands of tickets at a time as soon as they go on sale, before putting them back on the market at vastly inflated prices. To the fury of President Donald Trump, previous attempts to curb the use of bots have failed, leaving fans having to pay as much as 70 times the face value of a ticket. In March, Mr Trump signed an executive order to protect fans from ticket touting and crack down on what he described as 'unscrupulous middle-men who impose egregious fees on fans with no benefit to artists'.
