How to get into the Super Bowl without paying $10,000: A veteran fan’s 4-step strategy

Super Bowl tickets are famously expensive, notoriously scarce, and often treated as a once-in-a-lifetime prize. According to Forbes, the average resale ticket price on SeatGeek, as of Jan. 30, was $9,913 — 1% lower than at the same point in 2025.

But for fans willing to embrace uncertainty and a little luck, there’s another way to play the game.

The strategy isn’t about locking down a seat months in advance. It’s about timing, mindset, and being in the right place when prices fall and opportunities appear. One veteran of sold-out games, playoff runs, and legendary concerts, Casey McNerthney, who is also the spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, swears by a simple four-step plan that turns the Super Bowl into an adventure, whether you end up inside the stadium or not.

Step 1: Set your number

Before you even book a flight, decide how much you’re willing to spend and make peace with it.

That number might be $2,000. It might be $5,000 or $6,000. The point is to set a realistic ceiling, so emotion doesn’t take over when kickoff approaches. With a clear budget, every decision becomes easier. You’ll know when to pounce and when to walk away.

“What you want to take advantage of are the people who are trying to unload their tickets for any amount of money, and that’s how you get the low face value for the Super Bowl,” McNerthney explained. “It’ll be tougher because it’s unlikely that you’re going to get a ticket below face value. But the trick, I think, for the Super Bowl is to go there.”

That brings us to the next step.

Step 2: Get there

The most important move isn’t clicking “buy.” It’s showing up.

Be outside the stadium. Be in the mix. Luck doesn’t find you at home, refreshing an app. It finds you when you’re standing near the gates, phone in hand, watching resale prices slide as the first quarter ticks away.

For most events, the sweet spot comes just after kickoff. That’s when sellers realize unsold tickets are worth less with every minute that passes. The Super Bowl is tougher, but the same forces apply — and tickets continue to appear well into the game.

Step 3: Don’t panic when the game starts

This is where most people fail.

Kickoff happens. Prices are still high. Anxiety spikes. But history says patience pays off. There are always tickets after the opening kick. If you’re already at the stadium, you haven’t missed your chance. You’re exactly where you need to be.

“Don’t freak out and don’t worry if the event has already started. There’s still time for the prices to go down. There is still time for tickets to be available,” McNerthney said. “There’s always going to be tickets that are being sold after the first kickoff. And it might take until the first quarter or the second quarter or the third quarter, even after halftime, for you to find a ticket. But, if you’re kind of calling that luck in, odds are something great’s going to happen.”

Step 4: Assume something great will happen

This is the most important step and the least talked about.

Go in believing the trip will be worth it, no matter what. If you get into the game, great. If you don’t, you’re still part of the scene. You’re watching the Super Bowl in the host city, surrounded by fans, energy, and celebration.

“You know, what’s the worst-case scenario?” McNerthney said. “Even if you end up watching on someone’s phone outside the stadium, at least you will still have all the Seahawks fans as they come out that you get to party with, celebrating that victory.”

In other words, even if it’s the worst-case scenario, you’ll still have a great adventure to tell your friends about.

This mindset has paid off for McNerthney for decades, from playoff baseball to sold-out concerts. On multiple occasions, as a younger adult, McNerthney said he would simply show up and found tickets others insisted were impossible to get.

One legendary example: a $20 ticket to see Edgar Martinez hit “The Double” in 1995, when McNerthney was in High School, sending the Seattle Mariners to the ALCS – even though that crisp bill was earmarked for something else.

McNerthney explained has was a freshman and selling chocolate for a class fundraiser at the time.

“It was the chocolate sale money that I was supposed to turn in the next day, and I was like, you know what? They can wait a day, and I’ll just find a way to talk my way out of it,” he said.

McNerthney explained he also got into both Husky football games and Seattle SuperSonics games paying $5, $10, or nothing at all. One simple ask after tip-off and kickoff and he usually got in free, he said.

If you calculate the money logic, it actually adds up.

“When you go out in Seattle, say you take an Uber out and you have a big restaurant bill with bar food and drinks, that bill is going to be $150 at least. And then the Uber to and from is probably another $100, so, you’re pushing 250 bucks,” McNerthney explained. “A great road trip, probably, is $120 to get there and $120 to get back. So just go try it. It’s not going to be that much more to have an adventure right outside the stadium, and maybe you get into the game. And if you don’t, you have a good time anyway. It’s always worth it.”

If your goal is perfection, including front-row seats, pregame ceremonies, and every snap from kickoff to confetti, this approach may disappoint. But if your goal is the moment, the experience, and the story you’ll tell forever, odds are something will break your way.

Sometimes the ticket is the reward. Sometimes the adventure is. Either way, fans who show up, stay calm, and believe tend to walk away smiling. McNerthney said he bought that magical ticket in 1995 on pure belief and a willingness to try.

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