CNBC obtained a copy of the National Football League’s Summary of Attendance Statistics for the 2024 season, an internal document shared within the league, but not available to the public. The 35-page report includes data on tickets sold, net ticket receipts, the visiting team’s share of gate receipts and club seat premiums, gross general admission ticket prices, and the premium paid for club seats for the preseason and regular season for all 32 teams. The ticketing data in this CNBC report was sourced from that document.
The NFL requires every team to give 34% of ticket revenue and the licensing amount of a club seat to the league based on an internal formula, according to several NFL executives who asked to remain unnamed so they could speak freely about private conversations. This pool, known as the visiting team’s share, or VTS, is mostly redistributed equally among the 32 teams. In 2024, each team received $27 million, up from $25 million the previous year, according to the league executives.
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The VTS money not redistributed is used by the NFL to fund league-level lending programs that go toward the private financing of new stadiums and renovations. Some teams are granted waivers by the NFL on a portion of their VTS contribution if they are using stadium revenue to finance construction or renovations. The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams, for example, received waivers of $23.4 million and $12.2 million, respectively, for their new stadiums, according to the NFL executives.
The league’s 32 teams collected an average of $433 million in national revenue in 2024 from media, licensing and sponsorship agreements, said the executives. National revenue made up about two-thirds of overall league revenue. Local revenue — including tickets, suites, stadium sponsorships, concessions, parking and non-NFL stadium events — accounted for the remainder.
The San Francisco 49ers led the league in net ticket receipts — the amount the team keeps after taxes, fees and surcharges — with $176.5 million in 2024. That’s $40.8 million more than the No. 2 Dallas Cowboys and $67.5 million above the league average. The Tennessee Titans ranked last, at $81.2 million in net receipts. The Indianapolis Colts were next to last, at $83.3 million, and the Arizona Cardinals came in just above the Colts, at $83.4 million.
The 49ers also had the highest general admission ticket price, at $190.78 last season, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, at $184.27, and the Las Vegas Raiders, at $165.58. The New England Patriots, who have won six Super Bowls but have not made the postseason since 2021, charged the highest club seat premium at $471.92 — more than double the NFL average.
The NFL declined to comment in response to CNBC’s questions regarding the Summary of Attendance Statistics report.
