With AFC North clinched, some Steelers fans are thinking Super Bowl tickets

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on December 28, 2017

Though the Pittsburgh Steelers trounced the Houston Texans on Sunday, their odds of winning the Super Bowl didn’t improve. In fact, 3/1 favorites just a week ago, the Steelers are now 5/1 favorites, along with the Minnesota Vikings behind the New England Patriots (2/1).

But if you’re strictly a fan and not a gambler, the odds are somewhat irrelevant. After all, the Steelers are in the mix as Super Bowl favorites, and that’s enough. Fans who are thinking they want to make the trek to Minneapolis should the Steelers get into the big game, can still secure tickets at NFLOnLocation.com, the official seller of Super Bowl LII. The company gives fans the ability to select their own seats as well as plenty of different options, ranging from packages that include hotel and game tickets or deals that include club-level seats and access to the field after the game. NFLOnLocation.com has already sold out of two of its packages, but has multiple deals that include at least game tickets and pre-game events, ranging in price from $6,299-$13,499.

Super Bowl seating chart

Pennsylvania fans account for 15 percent of visits to NFLOnLocation.com.

When the Steelers were last in the Super Bowl in 2011, the average price of a ticket to the game against Green Bay was $3,621. The Steelers lost that game, 31-25, in Dallas. As of Dec. 15, the average asking price for Super Bowl tickets on TicketIQ.com was $6,045, ranging from $3,704 for seats at the top of Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium to more than $15,000.

The difference between 2011 and now isn’t just the price of tickets. It is about how fans can buy tickets and availability of access. Before On Location Experiences, the company that owns NFLOnLocation.com, went into business just a few years ago, fans had to purchase game, concert, party or pre-game experience tickets (if they could get them at all) individually. And often, the price to get into a party could reach $5,000 – unless you knew the right people. On Location Experiences has brought access to all of those events under one roof, put them into inclusive packages and made them available to any fan, regardless of who they know. The company is selling more than 50,000 tickets to events around the Super Bowl.

Of course, the Steelers, who are among the top five in overall offense and defense in the NFL, still have to get past those pesky Patriots in the playoffs to get to the big game. Both teams have clinched their divisions and have matching 12-3 records. The Steelers must win their final game against Cleveland on Sunday AND have the Patriots lose to the Jets in order to get home-field advantage. Either way, Pittsburgh will get a bye in the opening round of the playoffs.

According to TicketIQ.com, a the average asking price for a seat to the final regular-season is $277 – just $4 shy of the average price for a ticket to Heinz Field this season. Oddly, the average asking price for a Steelers divisional-round game (weekend of Jan. 13-14), is at its lowest since TicketIQ.com began tracking data in 2011. As of Dec. 26, the average asking price for Pittsburgh Steelers divisional playoff game tickets was $313 and TicketIQ.com had 5,166 tickets available. That price is well below 2011, when it cost $532 to get into the Conference Championship and $377 to get into the divisional game.

The next two most expensive games were the 2017 wild-card game against the Dolphins ($330) and the 2015 wild-card game against the Ravens ($314).

This article is sponsored by TicketIQ.