Super Bowl XLVIII kicked off in MetLife Stadiumearlier this week, the first time America’s biggest game has been held in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
While the New York Giants and Jets were excited to play host for the big game, some fans in the area weren’t so content with the Super Bowl process—especially ticket sales.
One man in New Brunswick, New Jersey, believes the Super Bowl’s high ticket prices were unfair to the public. As a result, he decided to sue the NFL in what he hopes will be certified as a class-action lawsuit.
Josh Finkelman, who works in warehousing, sued in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, this January. He accused the NFL of unjust enrichment and of violating New Jersey consumer fraud law, which prohibits withholding more than 5 percent of seating from the public for any event to be sold at other than face value, according to ABC News.
The man’s attorneys argue that just 1 percent, or 775 of the 77,500 Super Bowl tickets, is available to the public at face value.
As a New Jersey and New York attorney with over 23 years of experience in civil litigation, I will be carefully watching this case to see how it plays out. It is true that ticket prices to the 82,500-seat stadium are extremely inflated for the largest game of the year, with the average seat price now at $3,432.90.
On Dec. 30, Finkelman bought two tickets to the Super Bowl, each for $2,000. He believes this was “far in excess of the face value of the tickets.”
The NFL claims that every ticket the league distributes is sold at face value, with 75 percent of those tickets distributed to teams around the league. In fact, 35 percent of the tickets go to the two participating teams, then other teams hold lotteries among fans from information submitted the year prior.
If you have questions about class action suits in New Jersey or New York, be sure to contact an experienced civil litigation attorney today.