Several NFL players and coaches are facing penalties for reselling Super Bowl tickets at inflated prices. According to an Associated Press report, around 100 players and two dozen employees will be fined for breaching league regulations against selling Super Bowl LIX tickets above their original price.
An ongoing investigation found that these individuals sold tickets to ‘bundlers,’ who then worked with ticket resellers to mark up prices. This practice violates the Collective Bargaining Agreement. NFL’s head of compliance, Sabrina Perel, issued a statement highlighting the seriousness of this infraction:
“Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.”
In response, the NFL announced they will enhance mandatory compliance training for all personnel and impose stricter penalties for future violations. While players across all 32 teams can purchase two Super Bowl tickets each year, they are prohibited from profiting off them. This issue echoes a prior incident from 2005 when Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Tice was penalized $100,000 for scalping tickets.
Super Bowl LIX took place in New Orleans earlier this year, where Jalen Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in a rematch of the previous Super Bowl.
