Complacent 12s? Prices drop for Seahawks playoff game

Is Carolina cause for complacency among the 12th Man? You have to wonder after prices on the secondary market for Saturday night’s NFC Divisional playoff game took a sharp drop over the last few days.

Just last week, the cheapest seats were going for $247 in the highest corner of CenturyLink Field, according to online ticket aggregator SeatGeek.

But a check of ticket sites Monday after fans learned the Seahawks would be facing the Carolina Panthers shows a number of tickets available for $215 and less, with several seats in the upper reaches of the stadium selling for as low as $188.

Prices have dropped all around CenturyLink Field. Lower level seats along the end zone that were going for over $400 a week ago can now be had for around $300.

Tickets were selling for an average price of $388 after the few remaining tickets made available by the team sold out in minutes last Tuesday. SeatGeek’s Will Flaherty predicted prices would drop, and says they’ll continue to fall.

“For last year’s Saints vs. Seahawks game, average prices in the first 72 hours after the playoff matchup was set were in the $380 range. But by 72 hours out, the average price paid that day fell to $260, while the average price paid in the 24 hours prior to kickoff went all the way down to $206,” he says.

The opponent, no doubt, is playing a big part. Carolina finished the regular season with a mediocre 7-8-1 record but still won the NFC South title. Other than quarterback Cam Newton, they’re hardly a marquee matchup, and don’t have the national fan base of other teams that travel in far greater numbers and drive up prices.

If the Seahawks win as expected, the situation will be far different for the NFC championship against either Green Bay or Dallas.

“The average price on the secondary market for tickets to that game are currently $657,” says Flaherty. “That’s pretty much in line with the average price of $649 we saw for last year’s title tilt against San Francisco.”