The NFL has avoided the black eye of a blackout in one of the three cities facing unexpected difficulties when it comes to selling playoff tickets.
The Colts have announced that corporate partner Meijer has purchased the remaining 1,200 non-premium tickets to Saturday’s game against the Chiefs, making it a sellout. The tickets will be donated to local military families.
It’s not uncommon for teams and sponsors to buy unsold tickets. During the regular season, those tickets can be purchased for 34 cents on the dollar. In the postseason, the extra tickets can be bought at full price only.
The Colts had obtained an extended extension through Friday afternoon to sell all remaining non-premium tickets. The Bengals and Packers have done the same. Some believe that the league office grants extensions only if a private commitment has been made to purchase any remaining tickets.
If true, it makes the sense of urgency created by the issuance of an extension entirely false. Unless, of course, there’s a chance that the NFL would give extensions without a commitment that the tickets will be purchased.
Which means that folks in Cincinnati and Green Bay may have to buy tickets in order to see the game.
As to folks in Indy, it’s unclear why there suddenly has been an issue with the purchase of tickets. It could be that the locals don’t have the same confidence in this edition of the Colts that they had in the teams led by Peyton Manning, which seemed to be serious Super Bowl contenders each and every year.
Which would mean that, despite the signs in the picture accompanying this item, Colts fans really aren’t “all in.”