Super Bowl Tickets Selling At A (Relative) Discount

HOUSTON, TX — The big day is fast approaching. Super Bowl 51 takes place here on Feb. 5 and pits the underdog Atlanta Falcons against the heavily favored New England Patriots and a guy named Tom Brady.

It's one of the institutions in America and transcends mere sport. Millions of people rush out to purchase new television sets so they can watch at home on ever larger screens. It's giant.

Then why are tickets going for discounted prices? Blame the Cowboys (or thank them, depending on your viewpoint).

To be sure, Atlanta Falcons fans are snapping up tickets to the game at a rapid pace, but ticketnetwork.com was selling them for $2,428 apiece late Friday morning — and the site was even offering buyers a $250 discount. Granted, $2,500 isn't chump change, but it's a discount over Super Bowl 50's prices. According to SeatGeek, the average price per ticket for last year's edition of the game, which saw the Broncos defeat the Panthers, was $4,841.

Where do the Cowboys come in? When the Dallas team lost its playoff matchup to the Packers, the average price for a Super Bowl ticket fell from $5,877 on Jan. 14 to $4,603 two days later, according to SeatGeek. It seems America's Team still has big-time drawing power.

In all likelihood, prices for the Super Bowl will increase throughout the weekend, so if you want to see the Patriots win in person, you might want to pull the trigger soon. And caveat emptor: Make sure you purchase tickets from reputable and authorized merchants only. Counterfeit tickets would be a major letdown.

Oh, and for the big spenders among you, ticketnetwork.com is offering a 200 Level Suite ticket that includes "extravagantly catered full food and drinks" and access to an in-suite bathroom. The price? $359,000.

Image courtesy housuperbowl.com