The NFL is fining about 100 players and two dozen team employees for selling Super Bowl LIX tickets above face value, Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reported on Friday. As noted in the report, the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for players on all 32 teams to purchase a pair of tickets to a Super Bowl even if they are not participating.
Per Maaddi, the players who violated league policy by selling Super Bowl tickets over face value will face a fine worth 1.5x the face value of those tickets. The team employees who violated the policy will face a fine worth 2x the face value of the tickets.
Additionally, ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Tisha Thompson reported players who decline to pay the fine could risk a suspension from commissioner Roger Goodell. They also reported some players have already accepted their fines in order to avoid missing games.
The league's head of compliance, Sabrina Perel, sent the following memo to NFL teams about the news.
"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."
The memo notes those who bundled tickets will face steeper penalties.
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Tickets for the game were listed at a starting price of nearly $3,000 and went for as much as $24,995.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Fining Over 100 Players, Team Employees Over Super Bowl Ticket Sales.
