When the San Francisco 49ers opened their new stadium two years ago, the entire venue was sold out and you had to get on a waiting list in order to buy a personal seat license. At that point, the team was coming off three consecutive seasons in which it went to the conference championship.
Two years later, the 49ers are coming off a five-win season. And suddenly, they’re a lot less popular.
Per Sports Business Daily (via Pro Football Talk), 1,825 PSLs for 4,601 seats are now up for grabs, with many priced below face value.
Per the report, some fans that financed their PSL purchases over 10 years are thinking about “stopping payments and walking away.”
And that truly is astonishing, because 49ers fans aren’t stupid. Most of them are veterans, and most certainly understand that their team is experiencing the natural ebb and flow of NFL football. You’re good for a while, and then you rebuild. Right now, San Francisco is in a mini rebuild. But there’s absolutely a chance the team competes this year. That’s how much parity there is in this league.
I know 49ers fans are probably frustrated, but the reality is the team’s recent nosedive isn’t all on the front office. They lost several stars to retirement, injury, suspension and stupidity last season, making it very difficult to compete. Could they have handled the quarterback situation better? Maybe, but beggars can’t be choosers and the fact is Colin Kaepernick helped lead the team to the playoffs in 2012 and 2013.
This is still NFL football and the 49ers will be a fun young team next season. And we’re still talking about a franchise that has given its fans five Super Bowls and 16 division titles in the last 35 years. So give me a break and give them a break. Things could be a hell of a lot worse. Just look across the bay.
