DENVER — Denver Broncos fans are turning their attention to the team's home opener next week after a 31-10 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, but scoring tickets to home games this season is costing more than ever.
New data from SeatPick shows the Broncos are the sixth most expensive NFL team to watch this September, with tickets averaging $469 per seat. That's 22% higher than the September league-wide average of $386.
"I will do my best to make it to a home game this year. It's just unfortunate how much I have to save up for that to happen," said Broncos fan Traci Wallace.
"Tickets are a lot of money," said one die-hard fan, who goes by Bronco Billy. "I'm happy with one game a year."
The data from SeatPick lists the Buffalo Bills as the most expensive NFL team to watch live in September, with tickets averaging $726 per seat. The Detroit Lions come in second at $680, followed by the Chicago Bears, the New England Patriots, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
For fans priced out of the primary market, Candy Lewis has spent decades building an alternative. Lewis owns A Lewis Tickets, a small business she started in 1998 that connects season ticket holders who can't attend games with fans looking for a deal with no added fees.
"It's East Coast to West Coast, Mexico, Canada. Even sometimes we get people from Europe, if you can believe it, that are just googling us and see that we've been in business a long time," said Lewis.
She said she remembers when Broncos tickets were a fraction of today's prices: around $19 for a seat in the South Stands. Lewis said demand for tickets this season has been strong from the start.
"July was crazy, August crazy... they'll start calling and they'll say, 'Candy, we want four tickets for Christmas Day Buffalo or the Rams, et cetera," she said.
The financial squeeze on Broncos fans doesn't end at the stadium. Watching games from home is getting more expensive, too.
A new report from Groundwork Collaborative finds that NFL fans now need nearly a dozen different networks and streaming services to watch every game, costing between $750 and $900 per year for full access.
"I think, especially for younger fans who maybe don't have the history of just like clicking on the TV, finding the channel the game is on on cable, are pretty disincentivized... to get into some of these franchises in the first place," said Emily DiVito, senior advisor for economic policy at Groundwork Collaborative.
Nearly half of fans said they've skipped watching games because it was too difficult to find or access them, and nearly 6 in 10 said they've skipped a game in the past year because it was too expensive, according to the report.
The cost of game day food is rising, too. The Groundwork Collaborative report shows tailgating staples now cost about 10% more than they did a year ago.
Many Broncos supporters say their excitement for the season hasn't faded despite the cost, but said the price of home games might put more pressure on the team to perform.
"Honestly, I remember growing up in the city and my parents taking me to as many games as possible, going to training camps, going to everything that we possibly could, and it being like something that was not considered like a luxury or an extreme expense," Wallace said. "It really makes you question like how worth it, and also really puts a little bit of pressure on the team to make these seats still worth it for the fans to actually come and show up."
