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One College Football Playoff Game Has Most Expensive Tickets - By Far

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Dec 9, 2024 3:49 PM ET

Tickets for one College Football Playoff matchup quickly got out of hand.

Four opening-round matchups are set for the first 12-team CFP. The field features a stacked tripleheader on Saturday, Dec. 21, headlined by a matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee. However, seats for Friday night's game are apparently in much higher demand.

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports noted that tickets to Friday's matchup between Notre Dame and Indiana are far more expensive than Saturday's games. Tickets to see the Fighting Irish and Hoosiers at South Bend start at $1,065 on StubHub.

That's over three times more than the runner-up starting point of $344 for Ohio State and Tennessee. By comparison, it seems like a bargain to purchase $122 seats at Beaver Stadium to watch Penn State and SMU.

It's unclear what filter Wetzel used to determine those get-in prices, as StubHub currently lists the lowest tickets for the Notre Dame/Indiana game at $898. That doesn't include site fees.

Notre Dame sent an email Monday announcing that they had already sold out tickets after holding a pre-sale for season ticket holders and lottery-eligible members. That appears to be driving up prices on the secondary market.

A prestigious program playing a CFP game against a local opponent also makes this matchup a huge draw. Many Hoosiers fans are probably trying to acquire tickets to see Indiana at Notre Dame Stadium.

The Fighting Irish haven't won a national title since 1988. They got knocked out of the semifinals of their two prior CFP appearances, but Marcus Freeman's squad has won 10 straight games while ranking third in points scored and allowed.

Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers are second in scoring offense and sixth in defense. The 11-1 competitors each have a better record than any other first-round participants, but skeptics will note that neither Notre Dame nor Indiana encountered a grueling schedule this season.

One team will prove itself in front of a high-paying audience with a College Football Playoff victory. The winner advances to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day,

Those unwilling or unable to meet the high asking price can watch this matchup on Dec. 20 on ABC or ESPN.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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