With college basketball madness wrapping up, baseball season underway and golf's biggest tournament kicking off tomorrow, the sports season is in full swing (pun intended). But being a fan isn't cheap.
Admissions to sporting events have risen 123% since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the same time period, for comparison, recreation prices increased only 37%, which includes televisions, pets, sporting goods, toys, games and hobbies, recreational reading materials and admissions.
Here's what else the numbers say about the cost of being a sports fan:
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What your team loyalty really costs
⚾ $154 ⚾
Fans headed to Opening Day paid more than ever this spring. The median sold ticket price on Gametime hit $154 this year, up 44% from last year and almost double the $82 median from 2019, the last full pre-pandemic season.
⛳ $525 ⛳
Avid golf fans are digging deep into their wallets. A four-day badge to this year's biggest tournament (if you can score one) runs $525, which is up $75 from last year, per Golf.com.
📺 $123 📺
The average household spends about $123 a month to watch live sports — roughly $80 for a traditional primary TV service and another about $43 for on-demand streaming apps like ESPN, Peacock or NFL+, per a Reviews.org survey.
💸 $2,200 💸
"Fanatical" fans, or those who identify as being an extreme fan to at least one sport, spend nearly $2,200 on average annually, according to an Ally Bank report. General sports fans spend on average $1,600 per year.
🎟 57% 🎟
Over half (57%) of sports fans know they overspend, but 85% aren't saving up specifically for sports fandom experiences either, per Ally Bank. Where fans overspend the most are tickets, followed by food and drink, apparel and, surprisingly last, travel.
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