Sports Illustrated Tickets, which was launched in June 2021, has become a part of the NFL Ticketing Network alongside Ticketmaster and SeatGeek in a multiyear deal that will start with the 2024 season. This partnership makes Sports Illustrated Tickets an officially recognized licensed channel partner of the NFL, allowing them to integrate into the league’s primary ticketing inventory and become a part of the official ticketing ecosystem. Sources have indicated that the ticketing companies involved pay seven figures annually for this designation.
Sports Illustrated Tickets will be taking the place of StubHub in the NFL Ticketing Network, which was initially involved in the league’s open ticketing marketplace concept in 2017 but has since backed away from several league-wide deals after being acquired by Eric Baker in 2021. By joining the NFL Ticketing Network, Sports Illustrated Tickets will gain increased exposure and have the opportunity to compete with other ticket resale platforms such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, and Ticketmaster, who have greater brand recognition.
As Sports Illustrated Tickets aims to grow its market share in the competitive ticket resale landscape, the partnership with the NFL will allow them to offer customers a no-fee transparent experience in their transactions. This move will hopefully solidify Sports Illustrated Tickets’ presence in the secondary ticketing marketplace and attract more customers looking for a reliable and trusted source for purchasing NFL tickets.