NFL Reportedly Fines 100+ Players for Selling Super Bowl 59 Tickets Above Face Value

NFL players who tried to take advantage of the ticket demand for Super Bowl 59 have found themselves in some trouble with the league.

According to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, the NFL is fining more than 100 players and two dozen team employees for charging more than face value to sell their Super Bowl tickets.

In a memo sent to all 32 teams and obtained by Maaddi, NFL head of compliance Sabrina Perel said the league was still investigating the situation:

"Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value."

According to Pro Football Focus' Michael David Smith, league rules permit players to purchase two Super Bowl tickets at face value. However, they are not allowed to sell them for more than the amount they paid.

Maaddi noted the players who sold their tickets will be fined 1.5 times the face value they paid and won't be permitted to buy tickets for the next two Super Bowls unless their team is playing in the game.

The team employees who violated the policy will be fined two times face value of the tickets they purchased.

None of the players fined by the NFL have been named.

The average resale ticket price for Super Bowl 59 was $6,304, with the cheapest seats going for $3,346.

Super Bowl 59 was a rematch from three years earlier between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles dominated the game en route to a 40-22 victory and the second Super Bowl win in franchise.