It's still no cheap outing to attend a Ravens game. Even without factoring in parking ($25) and food, the average Ravens ticket costs $77, slightly above the league average. But to purchase that ticket at face value, you almost have to own a personal seat license, since 96 percent of all tickets sold are season tickets, and the ones that aren't sell out within minutes of going on sale. The average value of a Ravens PSL fell slightly this year, but the cost to buy one is still somewhere between $2,000 and $25,000, depending on the market and where they are in the stadium.
"I think the PSLs have helped us, because they've increased in value substantially since they were first issued," Cass said. "If you're a fan and you cannot afford to hold onto your season tickets any longer, what you do is sell your PSL. It's a little like the housing market. If you've got to sell your house in this market, you're going to get a little less than you would have the year before. But there is still a market. There is still value there. They have enough value that someone is willing to buy them."
That's hardly the case in cities like Detroit, San Diego, Oakland and Jacksonville, which all anticipate television blackouts this season. Already, 17,000 Jaguars season ticket holders declined to renew from a year ago. The team's average ticket price is tied with the Cleveland Browns for the lowest in the NFL at $55.
The Vikings still have around 6,000 season tickets available, even though the signing of Brett Favre sparked a run of 3,200 season-ticket sales, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The Vikings haven't sold out any of their games, and still have more than 1,000 tickets available to each one. The Cincinnati Bengals have had 44 consecutive sellouts, but that is in jeopardy this year. One of their preseason games was already blacked out.
"I think generally the NFL made a mistake during expansion," said John Moag, former head of the Maryland Stadium Authority, who negotiated the Ravens move from Cleveland after Baltimore was denied a team during the expansion process. "I think they misread growth potential of the Jacksonville market. I think Baltimore got over its NFL separation with the Colts rather quickly when this team came to town. There is no question it is a very strong brand in the NFL, and it's even stronger here in the Baltimore area. People are loath to give up their tickets. Whether we like it or not, it ranks up there with religion for some people."
