Top Sports Events in the U.S. Experiencing Shocking Ticket Inflation

We’ve all been there: you sign up for the tickets for a huge sporting event, you sit through hours of online queues, you find the perfect seats – and then you see the price at checkout. There’s nothing more annoying than getting hyped to cheer on your team, only to have extortionate ticket prices get in the way. Nobody wants to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for a seat that would have been dirt-cheap years ago.

After WrestleMania 41 took place in Las Vegas this year, fans were shocked by ringside seats costing as much as $15,000 for the two-night event. Even the nosebleed tickets – usually the cheapest possible option – were priced at $1,050. WWE legend Randy Orton was even filmed telling a fan he thought the prices were “embarrassing” in a viral TikTok, saying it was “so much f***ing money for a seat”.

In the wake of WrestleMania, we decided to highlight the sporting events that have seen the steepest price hikes over the last decade. From tennis and boxing to ice hockey and baseball, no sport is safe from inflation. Here are the ten events that have been impacted the worst in recent years:

The top 10 most inflated events in the U.S.

1. United States Grand Prix – Formula 1

Want to catch some F1 action this year? You might want to buy a bigger wallet before you think about grabbing tickets…

The US Grand Prix was added back to the Formula 1 calendar in 2012, after the competition’s president Bernie Ecclestone said it would “never return” to Indianapolis in the past. By the 2015 edition, costs had gone up to an average of $200 for a ticket, so the writing was on the wall for its massive inflation rate.

In 2025 though, the event has become one of the most expensive on the American sporting calendar. A typical ticket will set you back a massive $1,018 – and that’s just for the average seat. Imagine how much the best seats must cost…

With such a steep rise in price, tickets now cost 409% more than they did just 10 years ago. That makes the United States Grand Prix the worst-affected event by ticket inflation in America.

2. Super Bowl – NFL

The Super Bowl is one of the most expensive events in the world, but its costs are somehow only getting higher. With estimates that the game draws more than $1 billion in revenue every year, though, it doesn’t seem like the NFL wants to back down when it comes to charging such high prices for tickets.

In 2015, anyone who wanted to see the Patriots beat the Seahawks would have to put up an average of $2,000 for a ticket. This year, seats in the Superdome for the biggest game of the year were priced at $6,304 on average, marking a 215% increase in costs over just 10 years.

The NFL finals continue to draw in more and more money every year, but is a Kendrick Lamar halftime show worth an extra $4,300 price tag? For most of us, we’ll just catch the game from home.

3. World Series – MLB

During the regular season, baseball games are usually a lot cheaper than the other biggest sports in America. With the right tickets, you could take your family to a three-game MLB series for less than the cost of one NFL game.

The World Series is the biggest baseball stage in the world though, which obviously means there’s an opportunity for the league to make some extra money. MLB fans were probably furious about paying an average of $800 for their World Series tickets in 2015, but they must be hoping they could turn back time with how much the game is looking to cost in 2025.

In the last 10 years, tickets have gone up in price by 150%, with this year’s finals estimated to have an average cost of $2,000. If this rate continues, then fans can expect to pay $5,000 by 2035.

4. Major UFC Events

Dozens of UFC events are scheduled every year, and the price of a ticket can vary depending on the demand from fans for a particular card. For the biggest cards on the calendar, though, you can expect to have to shell out more than $1,000.

The average major UFC fight in 2015 would set you back around $500 for a ticket. Over the last decade, this has risen to a massive $1,200, having increased by 140% in 10 years. While one ticket typically gets you a seat for multiple fights, which is more than can be said for other expensive events, it’s tough to justify such high costs for many fans.

5. WrestleMania – WWE

We’ve already mentioned the absurd price of a WrestleMania ticket this year, but what makes the costs even more frustrating for attendees is how much more expensive the tickets are becoming with each installment.

In 2015, a ticket for WrestleMania 31 was worth an average of $500. In that time, the event has changed from one night of wrestling to a whole weekend, with two separate nights and two main events. While WWE has used this to boast an even higher attendance for the event, most of the available tickets are bundles that cover both nights of action. This means that the average seat for WrestleMania 41 was priced at $1,200, leading to a 140% increase in cost over the last decade.

6. Copa América Finals – Soccer

The Copa América is contested every four years to find the best national soccer team in South America. The tournaments draw in huge crowds, with the most recent finals having more than 65,000 in attendance, but it seems that fans are having to pay more for their seat with each edition of the cup.

Compared to an average price of $120 a decade ago, a typical ticket to the finals now costs $283. That means its cost has shot up by 136% over 10 years. While tickets aren’t as expensive as other international soccer tournaments, like the World Cup and Euros, the price hike makes it the most inflated soccer event on our list.

7. Stanley Cup Finals – NHL

Even before the price rise in recent years, the finals of the biggest hockey tournament in America was already a huge investment. If your team made it to the last NHL game of the postseason in 2015, you’d have to pay an average of $1,000 for a seat to cheer them on.

10 years later and the inflation rate shows no signs of stopping. This year, tickets are estimated to cost an average of $2,324, which means you’re paying 132% more than a decade ago.

8. US Open – Tennis

As one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis, a ticket to the US Open is a valuable commodity. The high stakes mean there’s always a high demand for seats every year, with smaller tennis events like the Miami Open typically having a much lower asking price for tickets.

If you attended the tournament ten years ago, you likely paid around $300 on average, compared to a typical price of $631 per ticket in 2025. That means prices have risen by 110% over the course of just a decade.

9. Super Fights – Boxing

When two championship holders clash in a boxing ring, it can prove to be one of the biggest money matches in the sport. With so much on the line, it’s no surprise that promoters try to earn as much as they can from seats, but modern-day tickets have doubled in price over a decade.

This time ten years ago, an average ticket to such a major fight would cost roughly $1,000. Nowadays, the same seats are likely to sell for $2,000 on average. The same inflation rate applies to major events like the MLB All-Star Game and the March Madness Final Four, but the high cost of super fights earns them a spot rounding out our list of the most inflated events in America.

10. All-Star Game – MLB

Every MLB regular season is split up by the All-Star Game in July – an event pitting the best players from the American League and National League against each other for a one-off game. With so many of the most popular athletes in America on one field, it’s no wonder tickets are expensive, but the rate at which the price has shot up in recent years might surprise you.

In 2015, an All-Star ticket would have cost around $500 on average, which is already much more than a regular season game. In the past decade though, that price has risen by 100%, with 2025 tickets fetching around $1000. This earns it a place on our list, rounding out the top 10 most inflated events in the USA.

The most expensive events in 2025

So, looking past the price hikes, which events will burn the biggest hole in your wallet for a ticket today? It probably won’t come as a surprise that the Super Bowl ranks as the most expensive major event in America, with the average ticket to this year’s Eagles win costing a massive $6,304. The Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, takes second place, but still costs under half as much with an average asking price of $2,500.

The Stanley Cup finals are the third most expensive event on average, with tickets typically setting fans back $2,324, while you can expect to pay roughly $2,000 each for both a World Series ticket and a seat at a boxing super fight. Some of these tickets give their holders access to multiple events in one package, though, such as the undercard for a boxing match or the multiple games in a baseball series, which could explain why they’ve become so expensive.

How have ticket prices changed since their inaugural events?

When you look back at the first ever editions of some of the biggest events in the world today, you start to realize just how inflated their prices have become. While tickets in the early 1900s could cost anywhere from $1 to $12, the same events now cost hundreds or thousands. Why has this changed?

Inflation is the most obvious answer, as a dollar used to be worth more than it is today, but there are other factors too. Now that travel is more readily available, it’s more common for people to take huge detours across the country, or even across borders, to get the chance to attend their favorite events. Plus, athletes and event organizers will always want the best salary possible, meaning companies can use high profits to build better teams or pay their players more.

The World Series has seen the highest hike in price since its inception – where the inaugural event cost just $1 for an average ticket in 1903, a seat is now worth around $2000. That means prices have risen by a staggering 199,990%. Stanley Cup tickets are now worth 116,100% more than their original price, while Super Bowl tickets have inflated by 52,433%.

Luckily, some events remain affordable. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, for example, began life as a race with free admission, but still costs $100 for a ticket after almost 100 years.

On the flipside, the Wimbledon finals are surprisingly getting cheaper – while tickets cost $150 in 2015, they now cost $77.33, marking a -48% drop in price. Although Wimbledon takes place in London rather than the USA, many of its top stars are American, and it’s part of the Grand Slam series that the US Open also belongs to.

The most expensive tickets per minute

With how expensive it is to buy tickets at the moment, you want to be sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Some events charge high prices because of their long runtimes, but if you’re spending huge amounts of money on just a short amount of time, each passing minute becomes expensive in its own right.

With bouts lasting just 60 minutes, a boxing super fight is the most expensive event you could attend when comparing cost to duration. When you take into account the $2,000 average ticket cost, every 60 seconds is worth roughly $33.33. If the fight is cut short, this could be even higher.

The Super Bowl is the second most expensive ticket in America by the minute, with a price of $26.27/min, while the Stanley Cup ranks third with each of its 150 minutes costing $15.49.

If you’re looking to save on a sporting trip, there are much more cost-effective ways to spend your time. The MotoAmerica Superbike race costs just 10 cents per minute, with tickets to the 480-minute event setting you back an average of $50. This makes it the best value for money per minute on our list. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally finishes a close second, with each of its 720 minutes costing just 14 cents from its $100 average ticket price.

For other cost-cutting ways to enjoy yourself, why not try some other non-sporting events? The New Orleans Jazz Fest costs 14 cents per minute of its duration, making it a perfect way for music lovers to unwind, while San Diego Comic Con costs 35 cents every minute.

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Methodology

This study ranks the 47 most popular events in the U.S. based on how inflated their ticket prices have been in the last 10 years. To do so, three price points were collected:

• First edition ticket price (Estimated) – the average ticket price for each event during their inaugural year based on a mix of secondary sources. Due to being an estimated number, this data point was not included in the final ranking.
• 2015 ticket price – the average ticket price for each event in 2015 according to a mix of secondary sources and the official website for each event. All prices are based on available data, adjusted for inflation and market trends.
• 2025 ticket price – the average ticket price for each event in 2015 according to a mix of secondary sources and the official website for each event. All prices are based on available data, adjusted for inflation and market trends.

Using these three values, we were able to calculate both the 10-year increase, and all time increase percentages. The events were then ranked from highest to lowest percentage increase.

The study also ranked the events based on their cost per minute. To do so, the average duration (in minutes) of each event based on typical event lengths was taken into account and divided by the average ticket price to give a cost per minute. For multi-day events, the duration and cost per minute were calculated on a per-day basis. The events were then ranked from most to least expensive.

The data was sourced from a variety of secondary sources including but not limited to: Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, Yahoo Sports and official event websites.

Data is accurate as of 05/05/2025.