NFL Team Plays in Mostly Empty Stadium Despite Tickets Selling for Less Than $1

The problems of one NFL side go way beyond their poor performances on the field.

Carolina Panthers failed to fill their stadium for Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, despite tickets in the run-up to the game going for as little as $0.45. Tickets for the best seats were priced at $5.

Photos from Sunday’s game showed tens of thousands of empty seats, with Mediaite suggesting that it was mainly a result of the team’s recent poor form.

“After drafting quarterback Bryce Young with the number one pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the team and its fans hoped that this season would mark the start of its return to championship contention,” the outlet reported.

Depending on where you look, get-in ticket prices for today’s Carolina Panthers’ game ranged from about $0.45 to $5. pic.twitter.com/CGd2fXJVHJ

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 17, 2023

“Unfortunately, the exact opposite has happened as the team is doing significantly worse than its 7-10 performance last season. Heading into Sunday’s game against the 6-7 Atlanta Falcons, the Panthers were a league-worst 1-12.”

Meanwhile, the sports website SB Nation described Sunday’s game as the “saddest three hours of football this season.”

“It’s par for the course in what’s without question the worst season in the history of Panthers football,” the outlet noted. “With nothing to be excited about, a cold afternoon in Charlotte, and season ticket holders locked into their payments — why not try to recoup the money for 19 ounces of gasoline?

“This is such a sad state of affairs for Carolina, and an utter embarrassment for owner David Tepper.”

The Panthers are so bad tickets are being sold for 45 cents https://t.co/KbfzKMqfuP

— SB Nation (@SBNation) December 14, 2023

Making the situation even worse was the fact that the game was billed as a “Friends & Family Day” where fans were urged to bring their loved ones who might not usually attend.

It’s “Friends & Family” Day in Charlotte. 10 minutes before #Falcons at #Panthers kickoff. pic.twitter.com/zsOw7fly0C

— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) December 17, 2023

Official attendance figures for the match have yet to be released, although some speculated it was in the low thousands.

One Panther fan account wrote on X that a stadium worker had said the figure was 5,200, although that number has not been verified.

A stadium worker just told me 5,200 https://t.co/okVKbHuaPu

— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) December 17, 2023

The Bank of America Stadium has a total capacity of 74,867, meaning the stadium was likely under 10 percent of its total capacity.

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Ben Kew is a conservative journalist and commentator. Originally from the United Kingdom, he studied politics and modern languages at the University of Bristol. He started his career at Breitbart London aged 20, before moving to the U.S. to cover Congress and eventually becoming the outlet’s Latin America correspondent until the end of 2020. Since then he has worked in editorial roles at RedState and Human Events. He has also written for The Spectator, Spiked, The Epoch Times, The Critic and PanAm Post.

Ben Kew is a conservative journalist and commentator. Originally from the United Kingdom, he studied politics and modern languages at the University of Bristol. He started his career at Breitbart London aged 20, before moving to the U.S. to cover Congress and eventually becoming the outlet’s Latin America correspondent until the end of 2020. Since then he has worked in editorial roles at RedState and Human Events. He has also written for The Spectator, Spiked, The Epoch Times, The Critic and PanAm Post.