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Afternoon Edition

January 27, 2025

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Want to attend the Super Bowl? Good news: It would cost you a smaller fortune than in past years. We explain why.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Super Bowl Ticket Prices Drop: Is Chiefs Fatigue a Factor? [[link removed]]

Beaver County Times

Is Chiefs fatigue setting in with fans? The early ticket resale market for Super Bowl LIX suggests that’s at least partially the case.

As Kansas City clinched Sunday a fifth Super Bowl trip in six seasons [[link removed]], low-end, get-in pricing for the Feb. 9 game in New Orleans hovered around $4,600 per ticket on multiple markets early Monday. That is down sharply from a comparable, entry-level figure of more than $7,000 at this point before last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, which ultimately reached record-setting levels [[link removed]], and nearly $6,000 for this same matchup two years ago in Glendale, Ariz.

Several factors are leading the market to react differently this time. Not only is the matchup this time the same as Super Bowl LVII, but the peak football seating capacity of more than 74,000 for the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans is materially larger than the figures for either Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas or State Farm Stadium in Arizona—both of which hovered around 65,000.

While there are more tickets available this year, there are also comparatively fewer available flights and hotel rooms, with pricing for travel and hospitality to and in New Orleans reaching record levels for that market [[link removed]]—long a popular tourist destination. As a result, overall fan costs to attend the Super Bowl could still be higher this year.

While New Orleans is indeed an in-demand market, it’s also hosting a Super Bowl for a record-tying 11th time. That, in turn, creates a very different dynamic than the debut iteration in Las Vegas last year, and one that returns the demand factors more to the competing teams.

Managed Market

As has been the case for the last several years, the Endeavor-owned On Location plays a dominant role in the overall Super Bowl ticket resale market, thanks to its status as the NFL’s official hospitality provider. The role allows On Location to control how and when much of the total ticket inventory becomes available, and very little of that ultimately reaches the primary market at face value. That’s also created less dramatic market shifts during the two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

The company is also bundling Super Bowl tickets with a variety of fan experiences, including NFL legend meet-and-greets, tailgate parties, exclusive merchandise, and travel accommodations, and its pricing currently starts at $6,600 per person.

Endeavor is in the process of shifting On Location to TKO Group Holdings [[link removed]], also majority-controlled by Endeavor. The corporate shift consolidates the company’s key sports assets into a single, publicly traded company.

Jones Defends Cowboys Coaching Search As Schottenheimer Takes Over [[link removed]]

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

The Cowboys introduced new head coach Brian Schottenheimer to the media Monday afternoon, closing the loop on a dramatic weeks-long saga surrounding the most valuable franchise in professional sports.

Schottenheimer has been in Dallas since 2022, and for the past two seasons was the offensive coordinator—but not the play-caller—under Mike McCarthy, who was fired on Jan. 13, eight days after the NFL’s regular season ended [[link removed]]. McCarthy’s five-year contract expired, and Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones ultimately decided to search for a new coach.

“This is as big a risk as you could take,” Jones said Monday during an 11-minute response to the first question of the press conference. The Cowboys are giving a four-year contract to Schottenheimer, the son of the late Marty Schottenheimer (who compiled 200 wins in 327 regular-season games for four different teams), who has no head coaching experience himself.

Time to Shine

Jones sought to push back against several perceived negative narratives about the coaching search, including its length and how many candidates were considered. “This was a thorough, thorough process,” he said.

While teams like the Bears and Jets requested interviews with more than a dozen coaching candidates, the Cowboys interviewed three people outside of Schottenheimer (Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier, former Jets coach Robert Saleh, and Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who was OC in Dallas before Schottenheimer).

“It’s ridiculous to think that you can make a decision to coach the Cowboys relative to the number of interviews that you might have,” Jones said.

Jones also spoke with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders [[link removed]] but did not conduct an official interview with the Pro Football Hall of Famer who won Super Bowl XXX as a member of the Cowboys. Jones noted he had conversations with longtime Seahawks coach Pete Carroll—who fired Schottenheimer in 2021 [[link removed]]—and Steve Spurrier, but it turns out those discussions were more about gathering intel on Schottenheimer.

Moving Forward

Both Jones and Schottenheimer expressed their appreciation for McCarthy, who interviewed with the Bears and remains a candidate for the Saints coaching vacancy, along with Moore (the Saints were reportedly planning to potentially fly to Philadelphia on Monday to meet with him).

“McCarthy left some good stuff here,” Jones said. “One of them was Brian. … It was time for a change.”

Jones indicated he wanted Schottenheimer to call plays, which likely wouldn’t have been the case had McCarthy remained coach.

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Is Pete Alonso’s Mets Tenure Over? Cohen’s Comments Raise Alarm [[link removed]]

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Mets owner Steve Cohen, already well known for wearing his heart on his sleeve in addition to his league-leading wealth, peeled back the curtain on the difficult state of the club’s negotiations with free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso—revealing just how fraught the ongoing talks have been.

Cohen, speaking last weekend at the club’s Amazin’ Day fan fest, said the contract talks with Alonso and agent Scott Boras have been definitively “worse” than the path leading to the record-setting, $765 million deal [[link removed]] last month with Juan Soto, also represented by Boras.

“This has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” said Cohen, whose $21.3 billion estimated net worth [[link removed]] is the highest among MLB owners. “I mean, Soto was tough—this is worse. … I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. It’s highly asymmetric against us, and I feel strongly about it. I will never say no. There’s always the possibility [of Alonso returning to the Mets]. But the reality is we’re moving forward, and as we continue to bring in players, the reality is it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players we already have.”

Alonso has been a favorite among Mets fans since debuting with the team in 2019, but he is now highlighting a group of MLB stars still without a signed deal [[link removed]] with spring training set to start in less than three weeks.

The Mets’ current luxury-tax payroll [[link removed]] of $288 million for 2025 ranks fourth in the league behind the Dodgers, Phillies, and Yankees.

Boras defended his client and the negotiating conduct with the Mets, saying there has been nothing unusual for a player of Alonso’s stature.

“Pete’s free-agent contract structure requests are identical to the standard and practices of other clubs who have signed similarly situated qualifying offer/All Star–level players,” he said. “Nothing different. Just established fairness standards.”

FOS AT THE SUPER BOWL

On-Site in New Orleans All Week Long

As the Chiefs and Eagles prepare to play in Super Bowl LIX, FOS is ready to cover every story about the business of sports. We’ll be on Radio Row in New Orleans throughout Super Bowl week, providing you with news, analysis, and interviews.

If you’re planning to be on Radio Row, let us know. We’re actively booking interviews now—simply reply to this email to connect with our team.

STATUS REPORT One Up, Three Down

Tuscaloosa News

University of South Carolina ⬇ Following a win over LSU’s women’s basketball team, the Gamecocks played the song “Cut Friends” by rapper Camoflauge, Tigers guard Flau’jae Johnson’s late father, who was killed in a shooting in 2003. Johnson called the move “nasty behavior.” South Carolina issued an apology [[link removed]] and suspended the DJ [[link removed]] hired to work their games.

Manchester United ⬇ Fans of the soccer club sent an open letter to Jim Ratcliffe—whose firm, Ineos Group, owns a minority stake and controls operations of the team—to stop the club’s ticket price hike [[link removed]]. Manchester United Supporters Trust said this is the “worst possible time” for a rise in prices. The club is currently 12th in the Premier League, a season after finishing eighth, its worst finish since 1990.

Royals ⬆ The team announced it will provide free admission to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum through February for the fourth year in a row in honor of Black History Month. The Royals Foundation contributed $135,000 last year to support the museum in February.

LPGA ⬇ The tour announced Friday that the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship has been removed from the 2025 schedule due to the event’s inability to fulfill payments. The event, originally scheduled at the Palos Verdes Golf Club in Southern California from March 20–23, first debuted in 2018. Last year’s tournament purse was $2 million.

SPONSORED BY TICKPICK

Super Bowl Matchup Set, Prices Moving

With the elimination of the Bills and Commanders, a Super Bowl rematch of just two years ago has get-in ticket prices [[link removed]] lower than at any point last year in Las Vegas ($5,650 as of 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 27).

With a capacity at the Caesars Superdome much greater than Vegas and also quite a bit bigger than the Super Bowl LVII matchup between the Chiefs and Eagles in Arizona, TickPick expects prices to continue to come down a bit as long as inventory levels remain high. With both of these fan bases well-versed in how to buy Super Bowl tickets [[link removed]], we could see a late purchasing frenzy closer to game day, which could ultimately drive up prices as supply dwindles.

For $150 off your tickets to the Big Game, use promo code FOS150 [[link removed]] in the TickPick app!

Conversation Starters Take a look [[link removed]] at the model of Metropolitan Park, the $8 billion casino and entertainment complex that would surround Citi Field, the home of the Mets. The WWE Royal Rumble 2025 on Feb. 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium has sold more than 60,000 tickets. That already surpasses the attendance record of the event [[link removed]] set in 1997 at the Alamodome. The name of Madison Keys was engraved onto the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup just moments after she won the Australian Open. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Kansas City’s Sports Run Has Brought In More Than $50 Million [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Three of K.C.’s four pro sports teams made the playoffs this season. All Signs Point to Kendrick Lamar Performing ‘Not Like Us’ at Super Bowl [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The rapper is reportedly dead set on performing the diss track in New Orleans. Bill Simmons Floats Jeffrey Lurie Doing a Reverse Josh Harris With the Celtics [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The Eagles owner grew up a Boston sports fan in Massachusetts. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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