With Familiar Teams In Running, Super Bowl Tickets Second Most Expensive In Past Six Seasons

The following article is from TiqIQ. As the Conference Championship Round kicks off this Sunday, four teams will battle for their right to play in Super Bowl XLIX. Interestingly enough, each remaining team has made an appearance on the NFL's biggest stage in the last five years, dating back to 2010's Super Bowl at Sun Life Stadium when the Indianapolis Colts took on the New Orleans Saints. With this year's game being held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, the current secondary market average price for Super Bowl XLIX tickets currently falls as the second most expensive Super Bowl over the past five six seasons. With four teams remaining, each possible Super Bowl participant will have a different impact on the secondary market price for Super Bowl tickets this year. A Broncos appearance would likely have boosted secondary ticket prices due to the team's closest proximity to Arizona, but an AFC Divisional Round loss to the Colts has placed a static hold on prices two weeks prior to the Super Bowl. The average price for Super Bowl XLIX tickets on TiqIQ is now $4,066.98, marking a 21% increase in price since Week 17's average of $3,350. The year-over-year price change has also increased significantly, with last year's game owning a final secondary average of $3,375.88. According to TiqIQ, the cheapest seat available for the February 1 game this year is listed at $1,732. The Seahawks are now the closest team to University of Phoenix Stadium in terms of distance, which could make prices experience a boost if they are in the running to repeat as Super Bowl champions after Sunday's game against the Packers. With the Packers also packing a punch on the secondary market in their last visit, either NFC team could help drive up demand on the secondary market. Both the Seahawks and Packers have traveled well on the road in their latest Super Bowl appearances, so ticket prices would undoubtedly jump regardless of which team is the NFC representative. The Packers played in the second most expensive Super Bowl in the last five years in 2011 when they took on the Pittsburgh Steelers at AT&T Stadium, where the average secondary market price was $3,621.93. Of course, a Super Bowl appearance from Tom Brady and the New England Patriots could also elicit a spike in ticket price, but likely not as high as the NFC teams. Brady is no stranger to big games in January, but the 37-year-old superstar has failed to hoist the Lombardi Trophy since 2004. The Patriots' last Super Bowl came in 2012 against the Giants, which saw the most expensive ticket price of the last five years at $4,214.53 on the secondary market. Pending a win at home against the Colts, the Patriots would allow prices to rise as Brady looks for his fourth ring in the twilight of his career. However, New England is the furthest team from Arizona and the Patriots' last trip to Glendale for a Super Bowl did not end well, with a loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. New England will have to get through Andrew Luck and the Colts first before they make travel arrangements to Glendale. Luck was able to upset Peyton Manning's Broncos last week and will now head to Gillette Stadium on Sunday to face Brady. A Super Bowl appearance would mark Luck's first and the Colts' first since 2010, which served as the least expensive Super Bowl on the secondary market in the last five years at an average price of $2,679.63. With Luck and his rising superstardom infecting headlines across the country, however, Super Bowl prices may experience a boost to see the 25-year-old play in his first Super Bowl. No matter where the chips fall on Sunday, Super Bowl tickets on the secondary market will likely see a spike when two teams cement their trips to Arizona on Sunday. With four familiar teams battling for their spot in this year's Super Bowl this weekend, fans can expect to see their wallets thin when looking for tickets after the dust settles on Sunday night.