Why NFL Preseason Ticket Prices Are a Bigger Crime Than Bounties

Alright, maybe the headline is a bit overboard. Still, NFL preseason ticket prices have gotten out of control.

Teams around the league seem to have forgotten that the games played in August are essentially high-profile practices, and they shouldn't be allowed to charge regular-season prices for a scrimmage.

In the words of the great Allen Iverson, I think too many NFL teams are forgetting that "We're talking about practice, man! Not a game, practice!"

Want to hear some scary ticket prices from around the league? Well, for starters, the Detroit Lions are asking $47 for nosebleed seats to see them play the Browns in their first preseason game.

If you want to see something besides silver-and-orange helmets running around, the Lions are asking a whopping $115 for halfway decent seats. They do realize they've only had one good season in decades and they're facing the lowly Browns, right?

I won't spend this whole article pointing out only Detroit, because they're far from the only team participating in this highway robbery of preseason prices. And since there's that conspiracy that the west coast is ignored in sports coverage, let's check on some San Diego Chargers' preseason prices.

If you're in the San Diego area and want to see the Dallas Cowboys take on the Lightning Bolts on August 18, be prepared to throw down $98. For some of us out there (including myself), that's more money than one day's work.

I understand that the NFL believes itself to be the most-watched and most popular professional league in the United States, and they won't get any argument from me.

That being said, that doesn't give teams a free pass to charge an arm and a leg to go see primarily second- and third-string players play a game that doesn't matter.

As a New England resident, I know too many diehard New England Patriots and even some New York Jets and Giants fans who have never gotten to see their team play live, preseason or otherwise. The biggest reason they always give me? The ticket prices are just too expensive.

The only fans out there who are getting a fair price on preseason tickets, it seems, are those of the less-than-stellar squads.

The Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars, for example, seem to have the right price range figured out.

The lowest price to grab a seat in Seattle to see the Seahawks take on the Pats is $55, while you can see the Jags take on the Super Bowl champion Giants for just $45.

NFL tickets are hands down the most expensive tickets out of all the pro leagues out there and too many fans are getting cheated out of hard-earned money to go see their teams' backup players play a meaningless game.