NFL cuts face-value prices for Commanders-Colts game in London after some fans had paid full price

Fans who waited to buy Commanders-Colts tickets in London are getting a deal.

Per the Associated Press, the NFL slashed face-value prices of Sunday’s game amid slow sales in an effort to fill up the roughly 62,000-seat Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. According to the report, there appeared to be around 2,000 seats still available 10 days before the game when the prices were slashed.

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Per the report, the league initially charged up to 245 pounds ($325) for a seat when the tickets initially went on sale. Per the report, the league recently cut prices on all remaining tickets to 79 pounds ($105), including those in premium seating sections. The league is also offering half-price tickets to students, according to the report.

This isn’t the first price cut. According to AP, the league previously cut cheaper seats in the upper bowl from 185 pounds ($245) to 115 pounds ($152) prior to the latest price cut to 79 pounds.

Each international game is a showcase for the NFL in its effort to expand its global footprint and fanbase. A stadium with noticeably empty seats would be a bad look as the league attempts to sell the appeal of the game to a global audience. Hence the effort to fill up seats.

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This, of course, has irked fans who paid full price to begin with. London-based NFL fan Andy Burrows railed against the NFL for the move in an interview with AP.

“They don’t care about the fans, Burrows told AP. “As long as that place sells out and it looks good on TV, the NFL won’t care about us. And I’m not alone. I speak to fans every day.”

The NFL did not respond to a request for comment from AP.

Sunday’s is the first of three NFL games to be played in London this season. There will also be European games in Madrid, Munich and Paris.

Sunday’s will be the 12th NFL game hosted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. None have previously had an official attendence count below 2,000, according to the report.

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Per AP, a Week 5 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has sold out. A game between the Jaguars and Houston Texans scheduled for Oct. 18 at Wembley Stadium still has thousands of unsold seats, per the report.