Well, it finally happened.
The Buccaneers have sold enough tickets to allow their NFC South showdown against the Saints to be televised locally.
“We’re pleased to have reached the 85 percent of general admission seats needed for local broadcast of this Sunday’s game versus the New Orleans Saints, which leaves us with the remaining 15 percent of tickets — starting at $30 — available for this exciting divisional showdown,” said Bucs Vice President of Business Administration Brian Ford.
Since the team opted to take full advantage of the new relaxed blackout rule, dropping their minimum from 100 percent of all non-premium seats to 85, they’ll be required to share on a 50-50 basis all revenue from the extra ticket sales with the league. But it’s a small price to pay for the ability to get a game on local TV without having to comply with the insurmountable task (for the Bucs) of selling all non-premium tickets.
It’s the first non-blackout of the year for the 2-3 Bucs. If they can keep winning, perhaps there surely will be more.