NFL teams lost $4 billion in revenue in 2020 due to empty stadiums during the pandemic. That's billion with a B.
That works out to an average of loss of $125 million per team. No matter how much money you've made or will make in the future, that's a significant amount of money.
For most businesses in such situations, the easy thing to do is simply charge additional money for those seeking to purchase your product and make up for those losses. The Steelers, however, have taken a different tact this year.
While a number of teams have already announced increases in ticket prices for the 2021 season, hoping to make up for lost revenues from the 2020 season, the Steelers have informed their season ticket holders there will be no increase. Ticket prices will remain the same as they have been since the last increase in 2018.
Now, Steelers season tickets were already a little on the high side of things when it comes to league averages for ticket prices according to Statista.com. But they also have never had an issue selling out Heinz Field on a regular basis.
In fact, the Steelers' waiting list for season tickets still remains several years long. There is no shortage of people who would purchase them, even if prices were increased to the highest levels in the league, a dubious distinction the Raiders hold with an average ticket price of $153.47 per seat, nearly $50 above the league average.
There's also the fact that a number of people are hurting across the country. They lost their jobs or saw their wages cut thanks to the pandemic. An increase in ticket prices at this time would have been viewed as being tone deaf to the plight of others, especially considering the league just signed new TV deals worth as much as $10 billion per year.
Of course, that hasn't stopped other teams from doing so. The Browns, for example, have gone with an increase in ticket prices. So have the Broncos and Bills.
That's the easy way out of financial losses. But this year, it wasn't the right thing to do.
YOUR TURN: Would you have re-upped or purchased Steelers season tickets had they chosen to raise prices?