Nocturnal 
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The NFL’s London series kicked off on Sunday with the Indianapolis Colts beating the Washington Commanders 30-13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — but the build-up was dominated by fan anger over ticket prices, not the football.
Crowds have been near capacity for all 43 NFL games played in London since the series began 19 years ago, with Wembley, Twickenham and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium all hosting matches over the years. The league says its UK fanbase has swollen to 18.6 million, with 4.5 million classed as ‘avid’ fans.
So it raised eyebrows when thousands of tickets for Sunday’s game remained unsold in the weeks before kick-off. The NFL slashed prices twice, in late August and again last week, meaning some fans who had paid £185 ended up sitting next to others who paid as little as £79. Tickets had originally gone on sale in July priced between £79 and £245. Discounted or free tickets were also offered through the Blue Light Card and Tickets For Good schemes.
The result was a crowd of 60,907 for Commanders v Colts — respectable, but well short of the sell-outs the series is used to. Large sections of seating also remain unsold for the next Wembley fixture on 18 October, according to the BBC.
Why it matters
Long-term supporters say the price hikes have gone far beyond inflation. In 2019, London tickets cost between £55 and £125. Since then, UK inflation has risen by about 32.4%, but according to Ticket-Compare the cheapest NFL London tickets have jumped by 43.9% and the priciest by a steep 96.5%.
Matt Cullen, a fan from Cambridge who has travelled to most of the London games, told the BBC the price rises felt like “a money-grab” that has “priced out a lot of long-term fans”. He pointed to the scrapping of season-ticket packages after the 2024 season as a particular blow. Those packages had guaranteed fans a seat at every London game at a discounted rate.
“It felt like a kick to the head for a lot of loyal fans who’d supported the games for a long time and spent a lot of money,” Cullen said, while acknowledging the NFL’s wider goal. “But I do understand the NFL wants to bring new fans in.”
Fans have also grumbled about fixture quality compared with newer NFL markets. Last month’s Australia game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams was a genuine divisional clash, and the Baltimore Ravens’ meeting with the Dallas Cowboys in Brazil last week was widely praised. “It was an amazing game and we haven’t had many of those unfortunately,” Cullen said of the Brazil fixture.
What happens next
Not every London game has struggled at the box office. Next week’s clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham, the most expensive fixture of the series, sold out within hours. Philadelphia have reached two of the last four Super Bowls, making them the most high-profile visitors of the year.
The Jaguars are also set to face the Houston Texans later in the series. With a record nine regular-season games being played abroad this season, the NFL faces a balancing act: keep expanding into new markets like Australia and Brazil, while addressing growing frustration from the fans who built its London following in the first place.
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