Once upon a time, tickets for NFL games in London were like gold dust. All 43 games have been near capacity at Wembley, Twickenham and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. According to the NFL, its UK fanbase has swelled to 18.6 million, with 4.5 million of those considered 'avid' fans. So in the build-up to this year's London series, why were thousands of tickets still available for two of the three games?
Next week's clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham sold out in hours. But the crowd for Sunday's game at Tottenham between Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts only reached 60,907 after ticket prices were slashed, and large sections remain unsold for the Wembley game on 18 October. The NFL is playing a record nine regular-season games abroad this season but 19 years after the first London game, has the NFL reached a saturation point in the UK?
Tickets to see Indianapolis beat Washington 30-13 on Sunday went on sale in July at £79-£245. But the NFL then dropped prices twice, in late August and again last week. Some tickets were also discounted or free via the Blue Light Card and Tickets For Good platforms. Matt Cullen has travelled from Cambridge to most of the London games and said there were two main reasons for the slow sales; a price hike and a season-ticket package being scrapped. "I find the prices now mind-boggling," he added. "It's so far above the rate of inflation that it just feels like a money-grab. It's priced out a lot of long-term fans."
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing