Sports

New Brunswick Man Sues NFL Over Cost of Super Bowl Ticket

Josh Finkelman claims affordable tickets are available to 1 percent of the general public. He paid $4,000 to a reseller for two tickets to the game at MetLife Stadium.

Written by Anthony Bellano

A New Brunswick man who spent $4,000 for a pair of tickets to the Super Bowl is suing the NFL for violation of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, NJ.com reports.

His attorney says the lawsuit is being filed on behalf of everyone who paid more than face value for their ticket, as well as anyone who couldn’t afford to buy tickets, but wanted to. He claims triple damages that could result in hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the report.

Josh Finkelman paid $4,000 to a ticket reseller for a pair of tickets to Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 2. He and his lawyer claim the NFL made only 1 percent of tickets available to the general public at face value, according to the report.

They claim the NFL violated the portion of the Consumer Fraud Act that covers withholding tickets from sale, prohibited amount, according to the report.

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According to the statute in question, it is illegal for someone who has access to the tickets to an event prior to those tickets going on sale to withhold those tickets from the general public in an amount that exceeds 5 percent of all available seating. Thus, Finkelman and his attorney claim the NFL should have made 95 percent of tickets available to the general public, not including season ticket holders, according to the report.

The NFL divides its Super Bowl tickets among all 32 teams, who then offer a majority of tickets to resellers via contracts years in advance, according to the report. The resellers then charge an grossly inflated price for the tickets, Finkelman alleges.

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