Two SEC teams playing in Atlanta for the 2018 National Championship Game is the dream scenario for ticket scalpers—and fortunes are already being made.
Alabama, led by coach Nick Saban, soundly defeated Clemson Monday night and the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Oklahoma Sooners in double overtime at the Rose Bowl, setting the stage for two longtime rivals to face off in the NCAA’s final game of the season. And even a nosebleed seat will run you $2,000 on eBay-owned Stubhub as of early Tuesday morning.
Demand for tickets was so overwhelming after the Bulldog’s dramatic win that Stubhub’s title game ticket page was down for roughly 30 minutes. When it came back Monday night, the cheapest ticket was $2,480.
Things have settled down slightly for now, but prices are likely to surge again as the game gets closer.
Want a seat in a suite during the game? That will run over $114,000 on Stubhub. And lower level seats along the 50 yard line are fetching up to $12,000.
Meanwhile, over at SeatGeek, seats in the uppermost level are starting at around $2,200 (plus fees), and running as high as $22,800 for an 11th row view near the 15 yard line.
You’ll save a couple bucks on ScoreBig, which has upper level seats for $1,983. Suite tickets (for a single seat) run as high as $114,500, though.
The surge in scalped prices is a big turnaround from last year, when Clemson and Alabama met in Glendale, Az. For that game, tickets on the secondary market were as low as $190, with an average price of $675, the lowest price since 2011.
This year’s National Championship Game will be played Jan. 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
