'Money-grab' or celebration? NFL kicks off London series

Once upon a time, tickets for NFL games in London were like gold dust.

All 43 games have been near capacity at Wembley, Twickenham and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

According to the NFL, its UK fanbase has swelled to 18.6 million, with 4.5 million of those considered ‘avid’ fans.

So in the build-up to this year’s London series, why were thousands of tickets still available for two of the three games?

Next week’s clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham sold out in hours.

But the crowd for Sunday’s game at Tottenham between Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts only reached 60,907 after ticket prices were slashed, and large sections remain unsold for the Wembley game on 18 October.

The NFL is playing a record nine regular-season games abroad this season but 19 years after the first London game, has the NFL reached a saturation point in the UK?

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Most of the fans BBC Sport spoke to at Sunday’s game had travelled from the United States [Getty Images]

Tickets to see Indianapolis beat Washington 30-13 on Sunday went on sale in July at £79-£245.

But the NFL then dropped prices twice, in late August and again last week. That meant some fans who paid £185 were sat next to fans who paid £79 a few days ago.

Some tickets were also discounted or free via the Blue Light Card and Tickets For Good platforms.

Matt Cullen has travelled from Cambridge to most of the London games and said there were two main reasons for the slow sales; a price hike and a season-ticket package being scrapped.

“I find the prices now mind-boggling,” he added. “It’s so far above the rate of inflation that it just feels like a money-grab. It’s priced out a lot of long-term fans.”

In 2019, tickets ranged from £55 to £125. According to Ticket-Compare, UK inflation has since risen by about 32.4% and the cheapest NFL London tickets have risen by 43.9%. The most expensive have seen a 96.5% hike.

Season-ticket packages had been available, guaranteeing seats for each London game with a discount, but they were scrapped after the 2024 season.

“It felt like a kick to the head for a lot of loyal fans who’d supported the games for a long time and spent a lot of money,” said Cullen, a former season-ticket holder. “But I do understand the NFL wants to bring new fans in.”

UK fans have also complained about the quality of recent match-ups in London when compared to those in the new countries where the NFL has expanded.

Australia hosted a divisional clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams last month, while the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys played out a thriller in Brazil last week.

“It was an amazing game and we haven’t had many of those unfortunately,” added Cullen.

The best team coming to London this year is Philadelphia, who have reached two of the past four Super Bowls, and their game next week is a sell-out even though it was the most expensive.

The Jaguars face the Houston Texans in two weeks and Dave, another former season-ticket holder, will travel from Chorley.

“We were all gutted when they took the season tickets away,” he admitted. “The way we saw it, we weren’t wanted anymore because we didn’t spend the money that new fans do on merchandise and we get to the stadium later.

“But it has opened it up for more fans to have the opportunity to attend so it’s a double-edged sword.”

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Jonathan Taylor ran in two touchdowns as the Colts beat the Commanders and produced a tea-sipping celebration [Getty Images]

BBC Sport spoke to dozens of fans at Sunday’s game and none of them were aware ticket prices had dropped. None seemed to care either.

American fans know the London games don’t provide the same tailgating experience they get back home, but they – and the players – are still fascinated by the eclectic crowd at international games.

Fans still travel from all over the UK, Europe and the US, wearing jerseys of all the NFL teams.

“It’s still one of the greatest sporting events that neutrals can go to,” said Dave. “I don’t think there’s any other sport where you’d get tens of thousands watching teams they don’t support.

“It was always a celebration of the game. People would go for the love of the sport rather than the two teams that were playing and I think that’s still the same.”

It sure felt like a Washington home game when they recovered a Colts fumble on just the game’s second play.

The crowd produced an even bigger roar when third-choice quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis – replacing the injured Marcus Mariota – made a 47-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks in the third quarter.

The Commanders thought they had drawn level when Antonio Williams ran in an 87-yard score, but the touchdown was chalked off for a Washington penalty.

Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones then got in to seal their success, with Jonathan Taylor having run in two touchdowns for the Colts.

It is hard to imagine anyone went home disappointed, no matter what price they paid.

The stands were bathed in sunshine and fans looked like they were having the time of their life as they sang Sweet Caroline and Wonderwall in unison.

Oasis’ Noel Gallagher was booed when he appeared on the big screen – no doubt because of his football allegiance to Manchester City – and former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney was also among the crowd, wearing a half-and-half scarf.

Olympian Simone Biles travelled to London to support her husband Jonathan Owens, who is a safety for the Colts, and as long as stars such as those show up at NFL games, international fans will want to be there too.

“There’s been a lot of anger from fans on social media about the ticket prices but it’s only what they do with last-minute holidays,” added Dave.

“Even though some of us fans see it as poor way for the NFL to run it, they’ve got a full stadium.

“We’re just not used to dynamic pricing in the UK. It was the same with Oasis tickets for their reunion. We were outraged at that but we still all went didn’t we.”