Pricey Bucs-Loving Times For The Average Joe
September 14th, 2018
$100 is not enough
The Bucs have done a spectacular job serving, supporting and satisfying their season ticket holders. The discounts, the perks, Team Glazer delivers the total package.
But for the average Bucs fan living paycheck to paycheck, well, these are trying times.
There are piles of unsold tickets for Sunday’s game, including in most levels of the upper deck. However, not one ticket is priced under $115 on Ticketmaster, which handles individual game sales for the Bucs. And prices will be the same at the box office Sunday.
This season, the Bucs further jacked up individual game prices for premium games, aka games when they know lots of fans from opposing teams will pay top dollar. Sunday against the Eagles is one of those games, as is the Sept. 24 contest on Monday Night Football, when the Bucs host the Steelers.
Like some sports teams (not all) the Bucs have gone 100 percent paperless with tickets this season. So coming to the stadium and walking the streets and parking lots looking to pay $20 for someone’s extra ticket is an ancient custom.
Did you just get your every-other-week paycheck today and you want to go to Sunday’s Bucs game? Man, $115.00 plus fees is a very high face value for a poor seat. That’s the plight of the “average Joe” Bucs fan today.
Things improve drastically to watch the Bucs-Browns in October, when individual game tickets start at $60.00.
Yes, the Buccaneers are a business. And Joe certainly understands profit. But the reality here is that the Bucs have priced out a lot of fans — the ones who can only afford to play it one game at a time. It would be one thing if Sunday’s game was sold out, but it’s not.
Joe hopes Team Glazer sees that end result as a whiff, considering the opponent, the energy currently swirling around the Bucs, and the excellent weather forecast.
Before commenters here start screaming about the secondary market, Joe’s not seeing any Sunday tickets there for under $115, either. But feel free to use your FanRetreat.com discount code JOEBUCSFAN for a little relief.
WATCH THE NEW TAMPA TWO EPISODE BELOW!
September 14th, 2018 at 10:22 am
I will be there Sunday. My first NFL game and it’s my Bucs. So Fn pumped. If any of y’all have advice on maybe things I need to do or a way to meet players or see something cool please let me know. Go Bucs!!!! Kill them 🦅!!!
September 14th, 2018 at 10:28 am
Koetter wants us to fill the lower bowl with Buc Fans for the Iggles.
I don’t live pay check to pay check but it’s way more than the $115 in the lower bowl, as much as i love my Team that’s a big NOPE!! between $450 (if you can find them now) to over $600 for 2 tickets, you are F-ing Crazy!!
I’ll route my hardest at Home though, lol.
September 14th, 2018 at 10:32 am
They can always bring out the credit cards
It’s the American way
September 14th, 2018 at 10:35 am
how do you go about grabbing a last minute seat in front of the stadium like back in the days?….you can’t anymore?…no hard tickets?…wtf
September 14th, 2018 at 10:37 am
40 year season ticket holder in the lower level and most season ticket I know think we are treated like trash by the Glazers…I agree. The perks are not all that wonderful. Game day has become a less pleasant experience over the years and eventually I will give it up…it just is not all that fun anymore…and you know who will be there to take my seats….apparently nobody
September 14th, 2018 at 10:39 am
@adam from ny,
It’s a royal pain in the butt. You have to transfer your tickets via Ticketmaster. This means they have to create a ticketmaster account if they don’t already have one, then follow about 50 steps to accept the tickets. Try explaining that to a 50 year old. You could always text them a screen shot of your ticket, but that gets very iffy, and I highly doubt I would accept that as a customer.
September 14th, 2018 at 10:39 am
Even those who don’t live paycheck to paycheck don’t want to spend that amount of money for 3rd level seats and bake in the September sun. I used to have season tickets on the 3rd level and the September games were brutal. I enjoy watching them in the comfort of my home at a crisp 72 degrees, on my leather couch, with a cold craft beer in hand.
September 14th, 2018 at 10:41 am
They have made a huge mistake overestimating the demand and are essentially trying to “scalp” the non season ticket holder seats. My end zone seats are $80 per game in my package but $205 for single ticket sales.
But kudos for them for solving the traffic and bathroom line problems LOL.
September 14th, 2018 at 10:44 am
That’s honestly crazy. I got my Saints tickets for like 1/2 of that and had a great sideline view upper deck.
I don’t see how they are going to profit off of empty seats vs filling them with cheaper priced tickets?
September 14th, 2018 at 10:44 am
At those rediculous prices I’d rather put that money towards a big screen TV
September 14th, 2018 at 10:50 am
Good work, Joe. This really struck a chord with me- coming over from England for the Redskins game but faced some incredibly high prices. Like you, I appreciate it’s a. business, but it seems foolhardy when the stadium isn’t sold out. Here in the UK, I can watch my premier league football team for £35 a game (about $45) for a great seat. It’s sold out most weeks and it’s a great atmosphere. Surely the process should be: sell it out, create an atmosphere, help the team win a few more games and then edge up the prices.
This will be my third time at Ray J to see the Bucs and each time the atmosphere was awful due to the number of empty seats.
September 14th, 2018 at 10:51 am
Lord, you are correct. Cheaper tickets = more happier fans, more at the concessions, more parking revenue, more profits.
September 14th, 2018 at 11:08 am
$115 is too rich for my blood. Sorry, I have an daughter in elementary school. Priorities.
September 14th, 2018 at 11:10 am
Stupid move – jacking up the single game ticket prices for the more “desirable” games.
Do you want to fill the seats up with Bucs fans or NOT Glazers? Geez.
Its not like the majority of Bucs fans and residents of the Tampa Bay area have all this disposable income laying around…
Over the last 20 years the average worker’s wages have not gone up one bit. Prices are 30+% higher for most items – especially the most expensive which is rent/mortgage cost. But wages are stagnant or worse for over 2 decades!
Meanwhile the Glazers have profited somewhere around $2 BILLION dollars from owning the Buccaneers during that same time frame.
I don’t begrudge them that wise investment – I’d have done the same if I had $192M laying around in 1996 to buy the Buccaneers with.
But don’t be sticking it to the little guy at this point after all that profit.
Just Sayin.
Oh – and one more thing –
CHANGE THE UGLY ASS UNIFORMS back to something respectable!
September 14th, 2018 at 11:12 am
Let’s not even examine the price….The product for the last TEN YEARS isn’t worthy of a commitment. Sport is entertainment….that’s reality and the Bucs have sucked at entertaining the fans.
September 14th, 2018 at 11:18 am
I don’t get the high prices either. My understanding was that more and more the revenue streams are dominated by tv deals and merchandising/licensing. With our family budget I can’t even justify a single ticket for myself, god forbid I ever wanted to take my kids to the stadium to try and get them excited about the Bucs…
September 14th, 2018 at 11:23 am
ya know…you would think after a few years a harsh ugly uniform would settle in, and you’d get used to it…oddly it hasn’t happened for me personally…the last uni’s were on point and the throwback offerings were cool…but these new unis are somehow not working…all digital and sheet…and it’s so obvious an ll pewter color rush jersey and uni would be straight fire…not that overload of red from head to toe…pewter unis and jerseys would be actually kinda nice in this new digital looking alarm clock style jersey…
#BringOnTheAllPewterUniformsAndJerseysNow
September 14th, 2018 at 11:24 am
I remember a few years back the Lightning used to do a deal where if you showed up in person the morning of a game (had to be before like 8 or 9 o’clock) you could buy 2 nose bleed seats for like 10 bucks each. If the Bucs did some thing similar even if they were thirty bucks each it would be a great way to give Bucs fans a chance to experience a game. No one is going to travel from another city to get to the stadium early in the morning to sit in the nose bleeds, only die hard Bucs fans that can’t afford these otherwise ridiculous prices. Making it an in person limited wry offer protects it from being abused by professional ticket brokers as well.
September 14th, 2018 at 11:24 am
typo:
*an all pewter color rush jersey*
September 14th, 2018 at 11:35 am
LC
I agree…..
if they had 1 set price glazers would sell out every week…..then fans would have more money to spend at the concession stands….seems like a win win for everyone…..bwtfdik……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
September 14th, 2018 at 11:35 am
Factor……the price of a six pack of Budweiser beer in 1979 when my EZ seats were about $10 per game….to 2018 price of same 6 pack and a seat in the End Zone
September 14th, 2018 at 11:51 am
csidedave – my tickets are the same in the lower bowl. If I gave them up and you were to buy them the next day they’d be about 40% higher cost. Our perk for being long time season ticket holders. I don’t ever notice the game to game prices as I’m a season ticket holder. And frankly we’ve always been treated pretty well. I think it can depend somewhat on two things: your customer rep and simply asking for things (the worst they can say is no). For example we get several “ship parties” each season. These are private tailgates sponsored by the Bucs on the pirate ship in the stadium. Starts at around 10:30 (for a 1:00 game) and is catered with breakfast and then lunch food, good stuff too. And they server beer and wine, all you want. This is a perk and there is no charge. The first time we did this Brian Glazer hung out with fans and was very friendly and spent time with anyone interested. We just asked our rep “hey, can we get a ship party?” and we typically get at least two per season. Also was part of the Thursday night package against the Falcons two years ago. Same kind of deal except in a party bus right next to where NFL Network was setup. Mike Alstott was our guest (there were about 30 fans) and he was on the bus with us the entire time just hanging out. Later NFL Network came on board, filmed us and asked for volunteers to don the big heads for Rich, Marshall (at the time), Michael Irvin, etc. 3 of my buddies drunkenly wore those for the cameras and danced around like idiots. I was too sober, ha-ha. Anyway, my point is the perks are there if you ask for them. We aren’t special season ticket holders, just regular guys in section 150.
September 14th, 2018 at 11:57 am
I’d love to see a study on the most raucous fan-bases and home field advantages in the NFL and see how much those tickets are, taking into account local cost of living, health of the area’s economy, median wages, etc. one of the rules of the internet is that once you’ve thought it up, someone else has already done it, so I’m hopeful one of you have seen something like that that’s current.
After a little research, it appears as though revenue sharing is primarily from national revenue like TV deals and merchandising, so the majority of ticket sales are for the Glazers alone.
So I get why they would be reticent to lower the price and make RayJay an affordable experience, but isn’t it better for your team to do well because of a home field advantage? Doesn’t that increase your brand footprint, allowing there to be more fans to pony up the cost years down the road??
Two things to keep in mind, that I think the Glazers need to address: 1.) with recent relocation, the Chargers and Raiders will begin paying other owners BOATLOADS of extra revenue as part of the agreement—so why not pass the savings onto your fan base? It’s called leveraging your windfall profits as an investment! That is, unless 2.) the more rowdy, blue-collar, non-executive fans you have that come to the game, the more likely they are to be opinionated jerks about their experience. What does it matter if the lower bowl is devoid of Bucs fans if the exec suites are cushy and plush? Who do you think fills out those yearly customer service forms that lands the Bucs so highly on those rankings? I wonder if the Glazers know that their price point keeps many of us out, but does it purposefully. After all, it’s easier to keep corporate sponsors and a few dozen super-execs (I almost said Uber!) happy and controlled, if a little quid pro quo can be silently understood.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:00 pm
These high ticket prices allow the Glazers to overpay for other stuff:
See Glazers purchase Vinoy for north of $520,000 per room and they don’t even own the land underneath it……
However, they can do that thanks to the working stiffs paying three figures for tickets and huge prices for beer….not to mention parking, not to mention USF having to pay to play there and the Glazers also keep concession and parking fees from USF games
I’ll stay in the air-conditioned comfort of my home headquarters where the game-time temp is 74 degrees.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:02 pm
Once upon a time fans in the stands were a greater percentage of owner revenue….fast forward to the current non profit awash in cash and fans are nothing more than props for the TV SHOW
September 14th, 2018 at 12:05 pm
@Pickgrin … “But don’t be sticking it to the little guy at this point after all that profit.” Come on Pickgrin, you know good & well that’s the American way. Pick a business nowadays that doesn’t do exactly the same thing. Medical? Insurance? Airlines?
The Bucs business model works for them (if it didn’t, they’d change it for sure). Just like Apple’s business model works for them. I use Apple products exclusively for my computing needs, even though they’re significantly more expensive to buy. And there are enough other purchasers who stick with Apple for the same reasons I do that Apple just keeps on charging higher & higher prices. The Glazers have enough people buying into their business model that they don’t see a need to change it. The ‘little guy’ as you call him isn’t their target IOW. TV packages? Yes. Corporate sales? Yes. Concession sales? Probably. Then add to that the number of ‘not-so-little-guys’ who can afford the ridiculous seat prices (right now) and they’ve got what they need.
Sad state of affairs, isn’t it. Up until a couple years ago I had season tickets in the top level too (since before RayJay opened) but gave them up for several reasons. The ‘game experience’ slipped tremendously over those years for one thing. For another, as I’ve aged the heat REALLY ddi get hotter up there (or so it seemed). And oh ya, Glazers kept raising the prices … and big screen TVs came way down in price. Aaah yes, thank heaven we can now watch all of the games on TV.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:07 pm
Pretty much when you consider the rake the NFL gets from TV, internet, stadium naming rights and signage.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
Steven007 I agree that we are treated pretty well. I have had 4 tickets since 1984 but I am about done, not out of anger or cost but it’s just time to spend my money on something else.
I am disappointed that the stadium will be so empty Sunday. It’s a lot more fun when it’s full. Cue the week of Tampa has bad fans news but this is 100% on the owners for the outrageous single seat tickets.
Best wishes to my end zone neighbor. I am in 149.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:27 pm
The at the Game experience is just not that fun any more. Back in the day the stadium used to go crazy – now we have a wine and cheese crowd. Most don’t even stand on 3rd down – (with this D I kind of understand)
I can eat and drink at a sports bar (or Home) like a King and still save a bunch of money.
Go Bucs!
September 14th, 2018 at 12:34 pm
csidedave, cool man. Look for us Sunday. My buddy is an architect and usually makes big heads for the game (of the players). We generally get on the screen a few times per game with (and without) the heads. We’re right on the aisle. If you’re in the vicinity I’ll be the big guy with longish salt and pepper (mostly pepper) hair in a red Bucs muscle shirt. Frankly, my time may be running out soon for similar reasons, even though it’s a relative bargain for me ($750 per season). Best wishes to you too.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Let’s just hope the stadium isn’t dominated by the green wave of eagles fans. I did speak to a couple of guys that we’re going to make the trip down and stay on the beach or long weekend. They canceled due to the red tide situation on the b let’s just hope the stadium isn’t dominated by the green wave of eagles fans. I did speak to a couple guys that we’re going to make the trip down and stay on the beach or long weekend. They canceled due to the red tide situation up and down the coast. I’m sure they were not the only ones to cancel
September 14th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
That’s what you expect from a family that started in business buying run down trailer parks and renting them to low income people. On top of that they charged extra ($50-$100) if you had a dog or a cat. They are just on a higher level now.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
That’s one thing I can’t stand about the NFL and big league sports– shutting out people who love the team but can’t spend that kind of money on a game.
As much as I’ve loved the Bucs and hate seeing the empty seats, I can’t blame people at all for not wanting to spend that kind of money, no matter how much they have.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
thanks JBF for the discount!
September 14th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
Steve007 we all know and love the big head guys! We were in 150 on the aisle until a couple of years ago when we moved across the aisle.
I’ll look you up.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
Sounds good, csidedave. See you Sunday! Rows v and w.
September 14th, 2018 at 1:04 pm
i used to buy upper deck tickets even in our hey day for 35$ to 50$ on game day, we would scalp club tickets for 40$ in the rhaheem era, this is cray its so hot in September, see you on the couch!!
September 14th, 2018 at 1:19 pm
I go to one game a season either a home game or away game since I live out of the Tampa area. This year it’s Pittsburgh on Monday Night. Paid $235 a ticket and have 6 people going to the game. One game per season at any stadium is enough for me. Too expensive. Unless my 40-1 wager comes thru and the Bucs win the NFC Championship. Plan on using that dough to make the big game. Next year it’s the Rams in LA and in 2020 it’s the Raiders in Vegas. Go Bucs!
#Get After It!
September 14th, 2018 at 1:24 pm
@’79Defense, couldn’t agree more, people just have better options for their money especially for what they are asking. I consider myself a huge Bucs fan and hate seeing all the away teams Jersey’s when i do go, but that kind of money on tickets, ridiculous. My daughter has met Tony Dungy several times and would love to take her and the fam. to the Steelers game when he gets put inot the ring of Honor but just can’t justify that amount of money, I’d be looking @ around $200 per for semi descent seats, if i’m lucky, NO F-ING WAY!!.
September 14th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
“Unless my 40-1 wager comes thru and the Bucs win the NFC Championship. Plan on using that dough to make the big game.”
That’s a really good “insurance” plan to inexpensively cya for a Bucs Super Bowl ticket just in case they happen to make it that far…
Fingers crossed you get to see the Super Bowl THIS YEAR!
September 14th, 2018 at 1:39 pm
Ticket prices always go down after the national anthem and the flyover
September 14th, 2018 at 1:46 pm
if i’m correctly understanding, tickets are going up big time again next season for all season ticket holders ???…please tell me i’m wrong
September 14th, 2018 at 1:46 pm
Jeez $115 for the nosebleeds? PER PERSON. Screw that. What a sorry strategy for building community support!
September 14th, 2018 at 1:47 pm
I moved away in 2006. I am coming for The MNF Pittsburgh game, strictly because of T Dungy. When I went online and got my tix, could not believe the prices…$325 each in club, plus fees.
I guess a lot has changed in 12 years, but I never expected prices like those.
Seems to me, with the money they make from TV revs, they would almost give the tix away. I guess fans in the stadium don’t mean much anymore. That’s a long way from 100,000 on season tix waiting list.
September 14th, 2018 at 2:12 pm
Northendzone Krewe!
September 14th, 2018 at 2:54 pm
What’s up, Wright! Coming to a game soon?
September 14th, 2018 at 3:00 pm
I Looked today and club seats are basically all available and all north of $300 each. 3-4 tickets for the fam plus parking lunch and a few drinks is a few grand for a few hours of mostly waiting in the sun between plays. Would love to get season tix but it’s just not a great value for anyone. We’ll be watching from home!
September 14th, 2018 at 3:34 pm
It’s true the Bucs have priced out a lot of fans but the Buccaneers are among the cheapest NFL tickets you can buy.
September 14th, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Season ticket holder here and I agree with the above sentiments.
I started with single game tickets when they were in the cellar at $30/game and then moved to the 5-game plan, before finally becoming a full-blown season ticket holder.
I agree with the above S.T.H. observations of needing to ASK about perks. If you do not ASK, they do not tell you.
Not including parking in the Season Ticket package is a farce (when you do buy it in the package, it’s the lot furthest from the stadium!?) and the team has some of THE WORST game day giveaways none to fandom.
Per Forbes:
“NFL teams evenly divvied up $8.2 billion, or $255 million per team, last season from shared league revenue, with TV rights deals from CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and DirecTV the bulk of the money. Factor in a salary cap that restricts player costs to 50% of league revenue and NFL owners are minting money with average profits of $101 million per team in the sense of earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation and amortization.”
The Glazers also have a slick deal with the County regarding stadium revenue, so majority (if not all) of the monies are going right to their pockets.
Did I mention that in addition to owning the money printing machine called the Buccaneers, the Glazers ALSO OWN Manchester United.
Manchester United is worth $4.123 billion; Tampa Bay Bucs are worth $1.975 billion
September 14th, 2018 at 3:46 pm
I must be a cheap bastard because those prices are gouging to the max. Ten dollars to get in is my limit to sit in that heat and even try to enjoy the game. Capitalists wreck whatever they put their greedy hands on.
September 14th, 2018 at 4:40 pm
Another reason (besides the heat) to stay home.
September 14th, 2018 at 4:41 pm
While I’ve been to a ton of games over the years, the one and only time I had season tickets was in 1997, the last year of the old stadium, and season tickets, for the entire year, with all fees, was $125.
Now that was cheap, even for 1997, as it was a special section on the visitors side back, a little wedge for poor people, where you were surrounded by visiting fans back when that was a much bigger deal and you’d have 40% of the stadium being visiting fans, or if it was like a Packers game it would literally be half the stadium. But, it was also the most fun I’ve ever had since it was the year the Bucs started winning and it was in the pre-PC era, or at least the era when PC wasn’t a thing, also it was the “sticks and stones” era as opposed to the useless “words hurt” millennial era we’re in now. So anywho lets just say the verbal jabs, taunting, name calling, etc – it was fantastic fun, in particular the taunting of Dolphins and Packers fans, those were by far the two that stand out the most.
But now, a poor persons seat, way up high (we were not way up high, it was kind of around the 20 yard line 1/3rd the way up, that’s the way I remember it) cost LESS (with fees) than one ticket now, and you can’t harass or taunt Eagles fans or they’ll throw you out of the game. Next thing you know the Bucs will follow the Saints way and have male cheerleaders doing ballet during the game, and for that honor tickets will be another $40 more expensive.
Anywho I’m not poor anymore so if I go to a game I’m not sitting with the peasants, it’s club seats or I don’t go, but I was once like you, and if I was still like you I’d hate this.
September 14th, 2018 at 4:56 pm
Remember when end zone seats were $9 and could be had for $5?
Of course save for a couple years – the product on the field wasn’t really worth $5 of “entertainment” with sitting in the blazing hot September afternoon sun and the cost of parking & concessions factored in…
Not so much different from the last 10 years really – except the tickets are 15X as expensive…
September 14th, 2018 at 5:00 pm
Pickgrin – Well if you go back to the 90s and earlier one thing you could always count on at games when it was hot was to see some drunk chicks taking their tops off, and pre-internet that was still a big deal, so to say $9 endzone tickets weren’t worth it… I disagree.
September 14th, 2018 at 5:27 pm
We gave up our season club tix this year to get full season bolts tix three rows from the glass. The games just weren’t fun last year. Hot and boring. Sorry. The atmosphere at Amalie is 100 times better than RayJay and the Lightning know how to treat fans.
#firetheglazers
September 14th, 2018 at 5:28 pm
Rod – I’m talking before the 90s. End zone seats were probably like $30+ by the 90s.
September 14th, 2018 at 5:53 pm
Pickgrin – Endzone tickets were easy to get under $15 in the 90s when I was going to games, and if you waited until game day you could almost always find a pair of sideline tickets for less than $30 a pair. Remember the old stadium sat nearly 75k and rarely sold out, so tickets were easy and cheap to get so they had to be priced accordingly. There’s a reason RayJay seats 10k less, it’s the same reason the Lightning took out 2k seats when they did the remodel, and it’s the reason that the new Rays stadium that will never get built seats dramatically less than the 45k that Tropicana Field was designed for. You create a demand for seats and you can jack up prices well beyond what you lose in not selling those additional tickets.
September 14th, 2018 at 6:01 pm
T REX – I will agree with you, for now anyways. Lightning games are a lot more fun to watch in person than the Bucs, at least while the Lightning are winning and the Bucs are not. But back in those late 90s and early 2000 glory years I’d also go to a lot of Bucs and Lightning games and, well, Bucs games were dramatically more fun to attend. It really just depends on if the team is winning or not. Well except for the Rays, I went to Rays games during the WS run and I’d gladly take the Bucs and Lightning over that as those baseball games were just boring and the atmosphere was terrible.
September 14th, 2018 at 10:39 pm
I did my 13 seasons… $25k or so later, I just can’t justify it anymore.
The NFL thinks every game is a main event and that budgeting for a game should be roughly on par with a day at Disney – family of four for $750-1000 with parking, food, souvenirs.
I’ll pay that for a home NFC Championship game – until then, RedZone.
September 16th, 2018 at 7:00 am
Wow Rod Munch, you’ve provided just about the most douchy comment I’ve ever read, congrats.