Tom Brady’s return drives Buccaneers-Patriots prices to regular-season high for New England
Written by luck on September 30, 2021
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The average ticket price to see Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in his return to face the New England Patriots on Sunday night is $1,101, which ranks among the most expensive tickets for any sporting event in Boston-area history, according to Vivid Seats.
The only game that tops it is Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final — when the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins — at an average price of $1,887, per Vivid Seats.
The other Boston-based games with the highest average ticket price are Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final ($938) and the Boston Red Sox‘s victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the 2013 World Series ($911), when the Red Sox clinched the title at Fenway Park for the first time since 1918.
Seating capacity can be a factor in average ticket price, as TD Garden holds 17,565 for Bruins games and Fenway Park topped out at 38,447 for that World Series game. Gillette Stadium, the home of the Patriots, holds 65,878.
According to Vivid Seats, the Buccaneers-Patriots game ranks as the sixth most in-demand game for New England since Brady entered the NFL in 2000, behind Super Bowls against the Philadelphia Eagles (LII, $4,722), Los Angeles Rams (LIII, $4,091), Atlanta Falcons (LI, $3,665), Seattle Seahawks (XLIX, $2,686) and New York Giants (XLVI, $2,660).
For his part, Brady said Thursday that he hasn’t thought much about seeing anyone from the Patriots on Sunday.
“I’m just going to try to do what I always do: Go be a great quarterback,” Brady said. “Obviously, I understand the opponent. I know all those guys. They’re some of my great friends, [and] they will be for the rest of my life. I know a lot of coaches, players, the owners, the staff. It will be great to see everyone after the game, but up until the game I’m focused on trying to go win a football game.”
As for other MVPs across sports returning to their former homes over the past 15 years, nothing compares to Brady. According to Vivid Seats, the previous highest-priced return game was Kevin Durant‘s first contest in Oklahoma City after he had joined the Golden State Warriors in February 2017 at an average price of $320 per ticket.
The most expensive NFL ticket in that category was Peyton Manning’s return to face the Indianapolis Colts in 2013, at $267. Brett Favre’s return to face the Green Bay Packers, when he was playing for the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, had an average ticket price of $212, per Vivid Seats.
