Report: At least 100 NFL players could be suspended for selling Super Bowl LIX ticket allotments

The NFL is reportedly set to levy serious fines and possible suspensions against at least 100 players from approximately half of the league’s 32 teams for allegedly selling their personal Super Bowl LIX ticket allotment for above face value, which goes against league policies, according to ESPN.

ESPN cited an agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association that dictates players who violate the rule will be fined 1.5 times the face ticket value and lose access to their league-allotted Super Bowl tickets for the next two years. Any violating players that decline the financial punishment could face suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, league and union sources told ESPN.

ESPN’s sources revealed the total number of potential NFL violators was “in excess of 100,” including some that have already accepted their fines to avoid suspensions. ESPN obtained a recent NFL memo sent to all 32 teams that announced a league-wide investigation revealed that select team employees and players sold tickets to a “small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller.”

And any players and employees who have been found to have worked directly with the bundlers or “otherwise had a greater role … will face increased penalties,” the memo read, according to ESPN.

“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,” the memo from NFL chief compliance officer Sabrina Perel read, per ESPN.

“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.”

The Perel memo also announced the NFL will provide enhanced mandatory training before Super Bowl LX for all league personnel the re-emphasizing the rules, specifically “the broader principle that no one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of our fans.”

Various media reports around February’s Super Bowl LIX, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in New Orleans, showed ticket prices on secondary sites ranged anywhere between nearly $2,600-$3,500 for the cheapest seats while the most expensive seats went for well over $10,000.