I started attending sporting events around 1980. As a sign of my increasing chronological existence I have fallen into the stereotypical pattern of referencing "the good ol' days." One of my beefs has to do with the cost of tickets to professional sporting events. My complaint is not that the ticket prices have gone, because that is to be expected but it is the disproportional increase in ticket prices that upsets me. Rather than just rambling on about how much better the past was I present some numbers comparing the average income for fans, average baseball ticket and average salary for a professional baseball player. I have chosen baseball as for a long time it took pride in offering an affordable family entertainment option (i.e. ample availability of "cheap seats" often less expensive than movie tickets).
1980: average income $13500, average baseball ticket $4.50, average player salary $20000
2018: average income $62175, average baseball ticket $72, average player salary $4.2 million
Increases: average income 4.6X, average baseball ticket 16X, average player salary 210X
Numbers don't lie, sports ticket prices have increased at a rate disproportionally higher than inflation and the cost of living. Old guy theory/complaint: validated. Player salary increases: that's another rant.
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