Stocks? Forget 'em. Bonds? Returns too low. Permanent seat licenses? Now you're talking.
The licenses that the Ravens and some other National Football League teams require fans to purchase to buy season tickets - often to help pay for stadium construction or renovation - have gone from being what many regarded as an extortionary annoyance to what some now consider a dandy investment.
For instance, when the Ravens' stadium opened in 1998, a permanent seat license ranged from $250 to $3,000, depending on the location of the seat covered by the license. Today, the same Ravens licenses cost $750 to $8,000 - up to a 300 percent increase - and that's if you can find one to buy.
And indeed fans can buy PSLs from each other, in a completely above-board white market, on eBay or through newspaper classified ads. The global Internet bazaar has PSLs advertised daily for some of the 12 NFL teams that permit holders of the licenses to transfer them.
"In the beginning, fans figured, `Well, $2,000 gives me the right to see the team play for a long time,' and they saw that alone as a valuable asset," said Raymond D. Sauer Jr., a professor at Clemson University who teaches a class on sports economics. "As the institution [of reselling PSLs] becomes more widely known, then you realize that you're not throwing your money away - that these are transferable, and then their value goes up."
Because of pro football's popularity and the limited number of games - eight regular-season home contests per team - the premium on NFL tickets is more pronounced than in other sports.
Of the league's 32 teams, 13 require fans to purchase some sort of license or agreement to then buy some season tickets. In most cases, the license is akin to a deeded or titled asset - such as a car or house - and the holder can transfer it with the team recording the transfer, often for a nominal fee. Among NFL teams that have such licenses, only Green Bay prohibits their transfer. Redskins season tickets are not attached to freely transferable PSLs.
But as with real estate, for anyone considering PSLs as a moneymaker, the cardinal rule is: location, location, location.
Soaring in value
Licenses for NFL tickets where fan passions run high - Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago - have skyrocketed in value; some Steelers PSLs have been resold for up to 10 times their original value on eBay. But in cities where enthusiasm is more tepid, such as St. Louis or Seattle, appreciation has been far less.
