The subpar seasons the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams had last year will follow them into the opening weekend of the 2014 NFL season as ticket price for their Week 1 games both average under $100 on the secondary market. The Buccaneers are set to kick their season off on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, who went 12-4 last season and are expected to be a perennial playoff team with Cam Newton under center. The Rams, who have made headlines throughout the offseason for drafting the NFL’s first openly gay player in Michael Sam, have not carried media attention over into their ticket sales and will open their season against the Minnesota Vikings, another team that has experienced a slew of dreadful seasons in recent years. With just four days separating the Bucs and Rams from taking the field, secondary market ticket prices remain significantly low at both Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
According to TiqIQ, the average price for Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers tickets this Sunday is currently $91.78 on the secondary market, the team’s cheapest home game of the season and 36% below the Buccaneers’ season average of $142.94 at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers will see their second lowest-priced home game of the season the following week against the equally secondary ticket market-struggling Rams, as the average secondary price for the September 14 game is $98.95, the second and final home game averaging below $100 on the Buccaneers schedule. The low secondary ticket demand for Buccaneers tickets comes after the team’s poor 2013 season, which saw them go just 4-12 and finish dead last in offensive yards and, perhaps more embarrassingly, own the worst overall ranking in the NFL.
The Rams will welcome the Vikings to the Edward Jones Dome this Sunday and will also have exceptionally low secondary market ticket prices. The average price for Rams vs Vikings tickets currently average at $71.07 on the secondary market, 46.6% below the average price of Rams tickets for the season, $133.18. Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings is easily the cheapest home game on the Rams schedule this season, with a December 12 game against the Cardinals placing second with an average secondary price of $101.30. The Rams will again be without starting quarterback Sam Bradford, who suffered yet another season-ending ACL tear in the preseason game against the Browns on August 23. The Rams are slated to have another year of rebuilding, and secondary ticket prices can certainly attest to it.
With offseason headlines bountiful in both camps, the Buccaneers and Rams will again experience declining ticket prices on the secondary market this season. The Buccaneers are expected to undergo another difficult season after parting ways with star cornerback Darrelle Revis and new head coach Lovie Smith finds his footing in a competitive NFC South. The Rams have broken barriers with Michael Sam but will bear the brunt of key roster changes as Bradford’s career suffers yet another setback. As the season gets underway tomorrow, fans can expect both the Bucs and Rams to have their struggles, both on the field and in the ticket box office.
