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Afternoon Edition

February 3, 2025

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Super Bowl ticket prices have plummeted by about 30% in the last week. Why? A lot of it relates to surging hotel rates, as many are charging more for one night than some tickets to the game itself.

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

Super Bowl Ticket Prices Crash As Hotel Rooms See Historic Rate Hike [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The ticket resale market for Super Bowl LIX is crashing, and historic hotel pricing in New Orleans is a primary factor.

Low-end, get-in pricing for the game across multiple marketplaces is now hovering around $3,300 per seat, down by nearly 30% from levels seen a week ago [[link removed]], after the Chiefs-Eagles matchup was set. That prior pricing was already a significant retreat from last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, a first-time placement of the event and one that ultimately reached record-setting levels [[link removed]].

Even Super Bowl LIX ticket packages sold through On Location, the NFL’s official hospitality provider, that include additional entertainment and fan experiences have shown a marked retreat, with pricing now starting at $4,750 per person—also down 28% from a week ago.

Similarly, prime lower-level seats can now be easily had for less than $10,000 each. In other recent Super Bowls, such inventory frequently sold for more than double that figure.

Where to Stay?

It’s not uncommon for Super Bowl ticket resale pricing to fall between the conference championship games and the title clash itself, though ordinarily not by this much. A key driver in this year’s market, however, is historic pricing and demand seen for New Orleans lodging [[link removed]]—particularly in the French Quarter and near the Caesars Superdome, but all over the local area.

For stays this coming weekend, two-star hotels in the region are nearing $1,000 per night, while four- and five-star ones are frequently exceeding $4,000 per night—and in most cases, each requires a three-night minimum.

The Sport Management Research Institute says the hotel pricing escalation in New Orleans is the highest it has seen in three decades of tracking Super Bowl trends, with the event-related increases now tracking at roughly eight times normal pricing. For many other Super Bowls, the hotel price bump has been half as much or less.

It’s not expected that the Super Bowl LIX ticket resale market will sink to historic depths, such as during the 2009 recession when some seats could be had for less than $1,000. The lodging crunch in New Orleans, however, is still having a material impact.

“I personally know more than a hundred people who would like to go to the game, have the means to do so, but only want to if they can get a decent hotel room, and right now, they can’t,” TicketManager CEO and cofounder Tony Knopp tells Front Office Sports. “When you see upwards of $2,000 a night for a hotel room that normally goes for $198, that’s insanity.”

Chip Kelly’s $6M Salary Latest Sign of Exploding Coordinator Pay [[link removed]]

The Columbus Dispatch

Chip Kelly’s return to the NFL is highlighting the astronomical rise for coordinator pay in both the pro and college ranks.

The Raiders hired Kelly as their new offensive coordinator, giving him a salary “averaging $6 million per year [[link removed]],” sources told The MMQB’s Albert Breer. That’s nearly triple the $2.1 million base salary Kelly was set to receive [[link removed]] as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2025. Kelly will be the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL, per Breer.

It’s a power move by the Raiders, led by owner Mark Davis and minority owner Tom Brady [[link removed]], who last week hired head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek. Carroll, the oldest head coach in the NFL, will turn 74 in September. His contract in Las Vegas is for three years. Kelly is 61, and he could even conceivably take over as head coach when Carroll retires.

As head coach of the Eagles from 2013 to 2015, Kelly infamously won a power struggle and took the GM role away from Howie Roseman in 2015, only to get fired by the end of that season. Roseman returned in 2016, assumed the GM duties, and subsequently hired head coach Doug Pederson. Philadelphia won Super Bowl LII following the 2017 season.

Kelly coached the 49ers in 2016 but was fired again after just one season. He was UCLA’s head coach from 2018 to 2023, before stepping down to join Ohio State and helping lead the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Expense Report

Kelly’s offensive coordinator salary in Las Vegas is higher than the reported salary values [[link removed]] for more than half of NFL head coaches. It also further showcases the investment franchises are willing to make in assistant coaches.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo makes $5 million per season [[link removed]] after his latest contract extension in 2024. Before Kelly’s hire, the Buccaneers offered Liam Coen a contract extension [[link removed]] that would have made him the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history with a salary of nearly $4.5 million. Coen ultimately became the Jaguars head coach.

In college, Kelly’s former colleague Jim Knowles left his role as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator to take the same job at Penn State on a three-year deal that will average $3.1 million per season [[link removed]], sources told ESPN, which would make him the highest-paid college coordinator in the country.

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Caitlin Clark’s Rise Drawing Stars to Fever, Creating Title Contender [[link removed]]

David Butler II-Imagn Images

While the basketball world was wrapping its mind around the Luka Dončić trade in the NBA [[link removed]], the Indiana Fever made a relatively silent signing that may have just catapulted the Caitlin Clark–led team to title contention status in the WNBA.

The Fever agreed to a one-year deal with six-time All-Star forward DeWanna Bonner [[link removed]] on Sunday, according to ESPN. The two-time champion spent her last five seasons with the Connecticut Sun. Indiana now has four players who were All-Stars last season: Clark, Bonner, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell—whom the team re-signed last week [[link removed]] on a one-year, supermax deal worth nearly $250,000.

The 37-year-old Bonner gives the Fever a veteran to stabilize its young core. Assuming Lexie Hull is the final piece of the Fever’s starting five, Bonner would be the only player above the age of 30.

Bonner’s decision is also a stamp of approval for Clark as a star ready to lead a team to a championship push and for the Fever organization as one able to attract top-level talent to a relatively small market.

The Fever play in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, also the home of the Pacers, which can fit more than 17,000 fans, one of the largest capacities for a home arena in the WNBA. Indiana led the league in attendance last year with an average of 17,035 fans [[link removed]], twice as much as the average crowd at a Sun game last season.

The team announced plans last month for a $78 million performance center [[link removed]] slated to open by 2027—though it’s unclear whether Bonner, who is entering her 16th season, will still be in Indiana. She will be 39 by the start of the 2027 season.

Changes Looming

While the Fever are set to compete next season, the team could look completely different the following year, along with the rest of the WNBA. All the major moves announced over the last week [[link removed]]—Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks, Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces, Satou Sabally to the Phoenix Mercury, and Brittney Griner to the Atlanta Dream—have involved players who will be free agents next season.

Nearly every major WNBA player not locked into a rookie deal is positioned to be a free agent next season in anticipation of a league-wide salary bump [[link removed]]. The WNBA is expecting a significant revenue boost given the $2.2 billion media-rights deal [[link removed]] it signed that will kick in next season, and players are also expected to negotiate larger salaries after opting out of the collective bargaining agreement [[link removed]] late last year.

It’s unclear just how high player salaries will go. Salaries last season [[link removed]] ranged from about $66,000 to $250,000 annually.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Spurs ⬆ It’s just Year 2 of Victor Wembanyama, but San Antonio has already found him an All-Star running mate. The Spurs acquired De’Aaron Fox from the Kings on Sunday. While they gave up significant draft capital, they were able to keep other young pieces like Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. Read more [[link removed]] on the blockbuster trade from FOS senior editor Matthew Tabeek and reporter Alex Schiffer.

Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson ⬆ The two WNBA stars had their jerseys retired Sunday by their respective colleges, Iowa and South Carolina. Clark is the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer (in both men’s and women’s basketball) and carried the Hawkeyes to back-to-back national championship appearances for the first time. Wilson led the Gamecocks to the 2017 national championship and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Transfer portal ⬇ Nebraska is likely to cancel its spring football game [[link removed]], head coach Matt Rhule said, due to concerns that other teams would be able to scout Cornhuskers players and convince them to transfer before next season. Last year, 60,452 fans attended Nebraska’s red-white contest, the fourth-highest spring crowd in college football in 2024.

Mike Gundy ⬇ Oklahoma State has formally approved a $1 million decrease [[link removed]] in the football coach’s 2025 salary, following a 3–9 record last year, including going winless in Big 12 play en route to finishing last in the 16-team conference. Gundy will make $6.875 million next season.

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Conversation Starters About 23% of Super Bowl tickets purchased are from Pennsylvania [[link removed]], while only about 6% are from Missouri, according to TickPick. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was booed in Ottawa ahead of the Wild-Senators game following President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on incoming goods from Canada. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Mavericks fans protested outside American Airlines Center following the Luka Dončić trade for Anthony Davis. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Tom Brady’s Rocky Debut Broadcast Season Faces Its Biggest Test [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Brady’s 11th Super Bowl may be his most challenging. ‘Ultimate Throwback’: The Unimpeachable Cool of Hartford Whalers Gear [[link removed]]by Meredith Turits [[link removed]]Nostalgia and street cred have driven a consistent frenzy for merch. NBA: 5 Notable Players Who Can Still Get Dealt Before Trade Deadline [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]After a pair of blockbuster trades, who else could be dealt? 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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