Long-suffering Carolina Panthers fans are going to have to pay more to see the NFL’s worst team in 2024 after the club’s resale ticket prices plummeted during the miserable 2023 campaign.
Billionaire David Tepper’s 2-15 team is raising overall ticket prices by slightly more than 4 percent in 2024 despite being shut out over the final two games of 2023.
The lower-level seating at Bank of America Stadium will see the most significant impact, with season ticket prices increasing by an average of 7 percent from last year for permanent seat license owners, according to a team spokesman. The upper-level seating will see a blended increase of less than 1 percent, with 90 percent of those ticket prices remaining flat.
Premium tickets, which includes club seats and suites, will increase based on the terms in their contracts.
The 2023 Panthers proved so unpopular with fans that ticket prices dropped under a dollar for the team’s December 17 win over the visiting Atlanta Falcons in Charlotte.
A fan looks on before a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers in December
David Tepper is facing criticism after raising ticket prices for a team that finished 2-15 in 2023
However, as well as their poor form on the field, a big factor in tickets dropping as low as 45 cents that night was the monsoon that swept through Carolina in 2023.
Naturally, fans are objecting to the ticket increase.
‘I don’t understand how Tepper thinks it’s a smart idea to increase the ticket price when this team finished 2-15 last season,’ wondered one fan on X.
Another fan added: ‘Every decision David Tepper makes about the Panthers is a bad one. It’s comical how terrible of an owner he is.’
The team did not release the new actual cost of a season ticket by section, except to say the most affordable season ticket package is $510 — the same as last season.
The Panthers struggled through the 2023 season after spending the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina sent top wide receiver D.J. Moore and four draft picks to the Chicago Bears in order to move up in the draft and get Young, including what turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2024.
Frustration and apathy reigned among Carolina fans last season, and head coach Frank Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer were fired.
The Panthers struggled in 2023 after spending the No. 1 pick on quarterback Bryce Young
Carolina Panthers fans did not hesitate to slam David Tepper for raising ticket prices in 2024
The Panthers faced half-empty stadiums near the end of the season and, in the case of a home game against Dallas, a crowd filled with mostly Cowboys fans.
According to research conducted by the team, Panthers ranked 19th in the 32-team NFL in non-premium ticket pricing in 2023 and still expect to remain comparable this season despite the 4 percent increase. The team says its research indicates that 93 percent of NFL teams are increasing ticket prices for 2024 with four teams still yet to release pricing information.
PSL owners will receive an email notice on Tuesday detailing the changes in ticket pricing.
The team says PSL owners have until May 1 to renew their season tickets. Those who sign up for a payment play or pay in full before April 1 will be eligible to win an all-inclusive trip to the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.