NFL Demand Still Up Despite Disastrous Start To The Season

Roger Goodell has his hands full.

The NFL is off to one of the most disastrous years in recent memory. With the players protesting the national anthem, President Donald Trump calling owners to fire players for kneeling, the botched LA Chargers move — one of the nation's most beloved sports is in a precarious position.

Despite the PR mess that has surrounded the NFL in 2017, ticket prices on the NFL ticket exchange are actually up 22 percent this year. Tickets on the exchange are determined by demand, and prices have increased in each of the four weeks of the season thus far.

However, recent events have tarried the price increases. According to data from TicketIQ, after Week 3 saw nearly 200 players kneel or lock arms during the national anthem, prices increased just 5 percent week over week the following weekend.

Still, some think one of the NFL’s biggest sponsors, Anheuser Busch Inbev NV (ADR) BUD is considering pulling its sponsorship of the league, in allegiance of the numerous veterans it employs, and has set up a telephone hotline for fans to give their feedback on whether they should continue their long-time partnership with the league.

“At Anheuser-Busch, we have a long heritage of supporting the nation’s armed forces, veterans and military dependents. The national anthem is a point of pride for our company and for the 1,100 veterans that we employ,” said the company’s hotline.

Anheuser-Busch signed a $1.5 billion sponsorship deal in 2015 that runs through 2022.