NFL clubs fleece captive audience

It takes a lot to shock me these days in the world of sport. But shocked I was when I read this article on Fox Sports today (click on the post title above to go to it). Apparently, certain NFL clubs have over-extended themselves financially to such an extent - through the construction of new stadia, for example - that they are now explicitly asking fans to foot the bills. Specifically, this entails selling fans a 'personal seat license' (PSL) for said stadia, the cost of which sometimes runs into six figures. And what does this get you? Well, the chance to hand yet more money over for tickets to each game. Yup. No kidding. According to the Fox article - and the many comments from readers following it - you can pay $150,000 for a PSL for the Dallas Cowboys, then still have to pay $800 per ticket per game to actually sit there and watch them live! This is, of course, absurd. But some very wealthy fans will pay up, probably through corporate accounts, and the rest of us will be consigned to the pay-to-view drinking establishment...

Or, as one respondent pointed out, you could go and watch live USA Rugby for free. Not too fast though, or a new stadium will be needed to seat everyone, and you know what'll happen next...