Most Expensive Sports Tickets Ever Purchased

Price: $4,000/seat*
Country: London, England
Year: 2012

Much like February 29th and the American elections, there are a few major sporting events that we only get the opportunity to witness once every four years. When London was selected to host the 2012 Summer Games, the city became the first to host the modern Games three times, however, the last time had been way back in 1948. It’s no wonder people were willing to travel from all corners of the United Kingdom and empty their pockets for a chance to catch an event live.

London Olympics Opening Ceremony @olympictickets2020 / @inspirationroom / Pinterest.com

The average price for a ticket to the pools, and a chance to watch Michael Phelps win a Gold medal, was a bit more than $700 a seat but that’s nothing compared to the $4,000 people were willing to pay on eBay for a seat to the opening ceremonies. Considering how long the opening ceremonies usually are, they actually might be the best “bang for your buck” someone would be able to find at the Games.

Price: $4,486/four-day pass*
Country: Georgia, U.S.A.
Year: 2013

Those who were fortunate enough to attend the 2013 PGA Masters Tournament witnessed history being made before their eyes. By winning the tournament, Adam Scott was able to accomplish something that no other Australian golfer, either before or after him, had done before. But watching the historic performance unfold before their eyes was not a cheap expenditure.

The Masters PGA @darrenrovell / Twitter.com

In order to have the honor of following professional golfers around the golf course for a day, people have coughed up close to $4,500 for a 4-day pass to the first (and biggest) major golf tournament of the year. The outrageous price to attend the event is slightly offset by the unimaginably reasonable cost of refreshments at the Augusta Golf Club. For less than $10 golf fans can enjoy a domestic beer, a Masters club sandwich, and a Georgia peach ice cream sandwich for dessert. 

Price: $990/ticket*
Country: Brazil
Year: 2014

Every four years, the world is treated to a soccer tournament for the ages, the World Cup. Thirty-one of the top-ranked countries from around the world join the host country in the thirty-two-team tournament. What’s at stake is something more than money. What’s at stake is bragging rights over the rest of the world for the following four years. Taking place once every four years, one could only imagine that the demand for, as well as the cost of, the tickets for the World Cup, would be enough to break the bank.

FIFA World Cup Final Germany V. Argentina 2014 Â - ©Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

The $3,350 price tag for a seven-match pass that will get patrons into three group matches, as well as the four elimination rounds (including the Final), isn’t too bad considering face value for one ticket to the Finals cost just shy of $1,000 ($990). Add in the cost of travel and expenses, however, and a trip to the World Cup Final to watch the Germans and Argentinians go head to head, might have been the last trip for a while. Especially if someone bought the tickets off of a second or third party, where tickets for the Final were going for as much as $30,000 a ticket.

Price: $66,500/courtside ticket*
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2017

During the four years between 2015-2018, tuning in to the NBA finals meant watching the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors square off for NBA supremacy. The Warriors took the first championship matchup between the two teams in 2015, however, the Cavaliers rallied to even up the series at one championship apiece with a Game 7 victory in 2016. By the time the match-ups third installment had come around the hype around, which team would win the tiebreaker was at an all-time high, as were the ticket prices.

NBA Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers V. Golden State Warriors @jerdanmason7 / Pinterest.com

The average tickets were selling on the secondary market for $1,500, almost double the Oracle Arena’s asking price of $780 per ticket. That’s nothing, however, compared to the $66,500 that the home team’s Ticketmaster resale site was charging for the opportunity to feel as though one is part of the game with courtside tickets, or should I say ticket. It would set someone back a ‘cool’ $133,000 if they wanted to take a friend with to watch the Warriors take round 3 (of 4) off of LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Price: $316,000/ticket*
Country: New Orleans, U.S.A.
Year: 2013

Everyone has their own reason for watching the Super Bowl. Some watch it for the commercials, some watch it for the halftime show, and a few even watch the game because they actually enjoy the sport. With almost 110 million Americans tuning in to watch the big game, the 2013 Super Bowl was the third most viewed event in American television history, which would explain the astronomical fees that people paid in order to attend, and the two teams competing did not disappoint. 

@collectsports / @baileyduxworth / Pinterest.com

The average face value ticket came in at just over $1,200 a head, however, second and third party tickets were sold for over a quarter of a million dollars, with some people even paying as much as $316,000. Those who were in attendance weren’t just lucky enough to watch the Baltimore Ravens win a nail-biter against the 49ers, they also got to see Destiny’s Child reunite with Beyonce for the halftime show performance.

Price: $65,000*
Country: London, England
Year: 2013

As the biggest stage in the tennis world, Wimbledon has given us some of the most memorable championships and greatest battles in tennis history. In the eyes of the hometown crowd, the one thing missing from the tournament over the past 75+ years was a hometown champion. Not since 1936 had a British man (or woman) won Wimbledon, but in 2013, Andy Murray was looking to change that fact against the 6-time Grand Slam Champion, Novak Djokovic.

Andy Murray Wimbledon ©Voax / Facebook.com

After Murray qualified for the finals, along with his popularity, ticket prices soared. Hours before the match began, tickets were selling in the range of $65,000 a ticket, which fans were willing to fork up for a chance to see history unfold. And unfold it did. After a 3-hour marathon match, in which both athletes saw ups and downs, Murray did the unthinkable and helped justify the outrageous prices that fans paid by winning the Wimbledon Championship.

Price: $250,000/luxury box*
Country: Florida, U.S.A.
Year: 2013

When head coach Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1) took the field against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (12-0) in the 2013 BCS National Championship, Saban was hoping to win the third National Championship of his head coaching career. Although Alabama hadn’t had the greatest of luck against Notre Dame in the past, winning just once in six attempts, this year the odds were on their side, and fans were willing to pay quite the hefty price for the chance of seeing the tide finally turn back in Alabama’s favor. 

BCS National Championship @ella777111 / Pinterest.com

The price for a single ticket to the 2013 BCS National Championship was around $630, which doesn’t seem too bad, in comparison with some of the other events on this list. To have watched the game in a luxury box, however, would have cost close to a quarter of million dollars. For those who are able to afford the hefty price, they were fortunate enough to watch ‘Bama destroy the Fighting Irish. The game was never even close. 

Price: $3,250/ticket*
Country: Vancouver, Canada
Year: 2010

In the past, Canada and Russia had had quite the epic battles on the ice, however, in recent decades, the “war on ice” has shifted to a battle between Canada and their neighbors to the south, the United States. At the 2002 Winter Games, for the first time in fifty years, the Canadian men’s hockey team took home Olympic gold, by overcoming the American team on the American’s home ice in Salt Lake City. Eight years later, it was time for a rematch, this time on Canadian soil.

Canada v USA Men’s Hockey Final @olympicvancouver2010 / Youtube.com

If someone is unsure of how important this rematch was to those in attendance, the face value price of tickets to the 2010 Olympic Gold Medal hockey game was higher than the average cost of tickets for the Super Bowl that same year, and people were willing to pay up. The $3,250 tickets were well worth the price, however, as the hometown fans in Vancouver were given an epic overtime thriller, that ended with Sid “The Kid” Crosby scoring the overtime winner.

Price: $57,950/courtside ticket*
Country: Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Year: 2010

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have, what is arguably, the most storied rivalry in NBA history. To date, they have played each other 368 times, with one-fifth of those games coming in the postseason. After Boston had won the first eight championship meetings between the two long-time rivals, in 2010, the Lakers were hoping to win their third title in the past four tries against the Celtics.

Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics NBA Finals 2010 ©Eddie's Tickets / Facebook.com

Prices for the 2010 NBA Championship were pretty much on par for what one would have expected for a match-up between such legendary teams that were stocked full of future Hall of Famers. The average price that people paid to watch the Celtics’ big 3 go up against Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers in game 7 was close to $1,500. But for a pair of courtside seats for Kobe Bryant’s final Finals appearance, it cost a little more than $115,000. 

Price: $16,500/ticket behind home plate*
Country: Texas, U.S.A.
Year: 2019

Between 2017 and 2019, there was no better team in the American League than the power-hitting, hard-throwing Houston Astros. Standing in their way, attempting to prevent the Astros from winning their second title in three seasons were the 2019 Washington Nationals. A team that had everything to prove and nothing to lose.

MLB World Series @ticketstubguy / Twitter.com

The 2019 World Series was an oddity for ticket sales, as tickets for game one sold on StubHub for as much as $16,500, however, ticket prices to games 5, 6, and 7 were selling for an average of less than $1,000. Washington fans, who would have made the trip to Houston’s Minute Made Park for Game 7, would have received quite the bargain in watching their Nationals win the World Series, as tickets were available for only $337 prior to game time.

Price:$2,500/seat*
Country: New York, U.S.A.
Year: Ongoing

There is no team in professional sports history that has won more championships than the New York Yankees, as such, the ‘Yanks’ have had their fair share of legendary players put on the pinstripes over the years. As a tribute to these legends, the Yankees have created their “Legends Suites”. A seat in the suites entitles someone to be treated as a legend should be treated. For the duration of the game, at least.

New York Yankees Legends Suites @debrawest57 / Pinterest.com

Legendary treatment, however, does not come without a cost. For a day of pampering at the hands of the finest stadium staff, the New York Yankees could find, fans will be paying, at least, $2,500 a seat. Come playoff time, seats can get up as high as $7,000-$8,000 apiece. With 122 seats per box, it could cost up to $1 million per game to enjoy the lap of luxury.

Price: $1,200/cageside ticket*
Country: Toronto, Canada
Year: 2013

Leading up to UFC 165, there was no better pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC than the Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon “Bones” Jones, who was sporting an 18-1 win/loss record with his only loss coming from a disqualification. His challenger, “The Mauler”, Alexander Gustafsson, was riding a healthy 6-fight winning streak into his first title shot. The hype leading up to the fight was high but not as high as the prices the people in Toronto were willing to pay for tickets.

UFC: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson @Gerentes_LATAM / Pinterest.com

Tickets to UFC in Toronto, Canada, were not as costly as some of the fights that we’ve had a look at that took place down in Nevada, however, at close to $1,200 a ticket (face value), Toronto’s mixed martial arts fans were willing to cough up almost a full month’s pay for cageside tickets to watch “Bones” Jones defeat his number one contender by a unanimous judge’s decision.

Price: $1,380/ticket*
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2013

When the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks took to the ice to decide who would be crowned the 2013 Stanley Cup Champions, it was the first time in 34 years that two of the “Original Six” hockey teams had squared off in the finals. Fans came out in hordes to watch the two teams slug it out, and although the series didn’t go to seven games, the teams put on a show for the ages. 

Stanley Cup Finals: Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks @loveandhappiness / Pinterest.com

Anyone who says that hockey is not big in America has never seen a game in any of the Northern States. Fans in Boston and Chicago spent an average of almost $1,400 a ticket to watch the Blackhawks skate, score, and slug their way to victory. If that doesn’t convince naysayers of their passion for the sport, I’m not sure what will.