How much have runs of Lions, Wolverines cost fans in Michigan?

The first month of 2024 has brought a lot of joy to football fans in Michigan, but it has potentially come with a big-time cost — literally — for those who are fans of both the University of Michigan and the Detroit Lions.

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49ers host Lions in NFC title game: will Detroit shock the world?Jared Goff, Lions hold off Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers – Dave Helman

The Lions’ first appearance in the NFC Championship Game in 32 years is just the latest expensive ticket in their postseason run. The average ticket price sold for Sunday’s game against the 49ers (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) is $941 as of Wednesday afternoon, per Vivid Seats. While that average ticket price is cheaper than the average ticket price from the Lions’ Divisional Round win over the Buccaneers, this will be their first road game, so it’ll likely be more expensive for Lions fans to attend the NFC title game than any other playoff game to this point.

Detroit’s playoff run comes on the heels of Michigan’s run to win its first national title in 26 years, which saw it win College Playoff Games in Pasadena and Houston. Just like the Lions playoff games, tickets for both matchups were far from cheap, too.

Considering Michigan’s proximity to Detroit, it’s easy to imagine there are many fans of both teams, giving them five straight weekends of high-stakes football. But what if one of those fans wanted to watch all five of those games in person, and how much would it have cost to do that?

Let’s take a look.

Rose Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal: Michigan vs. Alabama
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Average ticket price: Approximately $1,030
Round-trip flight from Ann Arbor to Pasadena: Economy tickets were running at approximately $2,350 after the playoff field was set prior to Jan. 1

It cost Michigan fans a pretty penny to watch the Wolverines play in their first Rose Bowl in 17 years, as ticket prices were the most expensive for a bowl game in at least 13 years, according to TicketIQ. But those Michigan fans who paid the price to attend the Rose Bowl got to watch a classic, with the Wolverines coming back in the fourth quarter before winning in overtime to advance to the title game. No one knew it at the time, but they also watched Nick Saban coach for the final time in that game as well.

49ers host Lions in NFC title game: will Detroit shock the world?

National Championship Game: Michigan vs. Washington
Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Average ticket price: Approximately $2,800
Round-trip flight from Ann Arbor to Houston: Economy tickets were running at approximately $1,670 in early December, and presumably skyrocketed for those who awaited the result of the Rose Bowl.

Just a week after the Rose Nowl, Michigan fans had to shell out even more money if they wanted to watch the Wolverines play for the national title. The roughly $2,800 approximate average ticket price for this year’s title game was one of the priciest ever for a title game even though neither school was in the same region where the game was being played. It was the priciest ticket price for a title game since 2017, when Alabama and Georgia played in Atlanta, according to SeatGeek.

For many Michigan fans though, the ticket was just a small price to pay to watch the Wolverines win their first national title in 26 years.

NFC wild-card game: Rams vs. Lions
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Average ticket price: Approximately $675

The Lions’ first home playoff game in 32 years also marked Matthew Stafford’s first game in the Motor City since he was traded in 2021, adding to the intrigue. The added intrigue also made the game the most expensive ticket for a wild-card weekend game ever, according to TickPick. But just like Michigan fans did in the College Football Playoff, Lions fans who attended the wild-card game saw a matchup to remember as the home team outlasted the Rams, 24-23.

NFC Divisional Round game: Buccaneers vs. Lions
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Average ticket price: Approximately $1,180

The Lions’ second playoff game in 32 years was even more expensive than the first, with the average sold ticket price nearly doubling in price. It also made another record as it was the highest average sold ticket price for a Divisional Round game, blowing out the previous record ($605) by nearly $600, according to TickPick. And just like every other game so far on this list, the paying fans for the team from Michigan went home happy as the Lions defeated the Buccaneers, 31-23.

Jared Goff, Lions hold off Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers – Dave Helman

NFC Championship Game: Lions vs. 49ers
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Average ticket price: $941
Cheapest round-trip flight from Detroit to San Francisco: $700

As the Lions hit the road for the first time this postseason, they’re expected to have a heavy contingent of fans following them, so ticket prices for the NFC Championship Game are also expensive.

But now Lions fans also have to make room for travel costs within their budget. Delta is helping some Lions fans get to San Francisco for Sunday’s game, adding a return trip to Detroit on Monday and swapping in a larger plane. Still, fans wanting to travel from Detroit to San Francisco will have to pay at least a few extra hundred dollars in order to attend the game. As of Wednesday, the cheapest round-trip flight from Detroit to San Francisco (Saturday to Monday) was $700, via Expedia, with many of the cheapest flights including a layover.

Fans who were more proactive in getting their flights to the Bay Area secured might have saved some money. A round-trip flight from Detroit to San Jose from Saturday to Monday cost roughly $500, while a round-trip flight from Detroit to San Francisco over those same days cost between $420 and $660 on Monday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Total cost to attend all five games (if flying from Michigan): At least $11,146

When you add up all the average ticket prices for each five games, while taking the cheapest airfare to the Bay Area for the weekend, fans who wanted to attend all five games had to shell out at least five figures in order to do so. That’s also before accounting for lodging, meals and souvenirs, among other things.

But for those who wanted to see Michigan and the Lions make deep playoff runs this winter, the cost to them might be priceless.