The price of watching sports has become an increasingly frequent complaint from fans. Between the rising fees of streaming services and the small fortune that tickets now cost, many fans have had to cut back on watching games, according to a survey of 3,500 by Deloitte, published in March 2026.

At DePaul, students and professors alike agree: watching sports is too expensive.

“It’s getting to be quite an investment,” said Fred Mitchell, a retired sports writer who teaches sports journalism at DePaul. In his view, teams and venues are “pushing the limit to see how much people will pay to say that they were in person.”

Mitchell said in-person sporting events are geared toward wealthier fans who can afford tickets, parking and food. That’s especially true when it comes to larger events, such as the Super Bowl or the World Cup. The cheapest possible tickets for the former went for $3,000, and tickets for the U.S.’s opening match are currently going for just under $2,000. SoFi Stadium has been unable to sell out the game as of yet.

“You’re talking about catering to the rich and the corporations and excluding the everyday fan,” Mitchell said.

Grace Brooks, a freshman film student at DePaul, said ticket prices are divisive. Seats closer to the field are often much more expensive than seats higher up in the stadium, meaning different sections of the stadium physically divide fans based on what they can afford.

Brooks goes to Detroit Tigers and Lions games often, spending a minimum of $40 for the cheapest possible seats and food. She said she would like teams to make it easier for fans to attend games in person and give more opportunities for everyone to watch.

Sybil Freedman, a freshman public relations major, agreed. 

“People should get to have the opportunity to go, and making it less expensive would definitely be helpful,” she said.

Freedman is a Blackhawks fan who has attended games regularly this season and in years past. She said the costs inside the stadiums are a big concern.

“The food can be pretty expensive,” she said. She added that she spends anywhere from $20-30 on food alone.

Even watching games at home has gotten pricey. Teams’ games used to be broadcast on a single channel throughout their entire season. Now, fans need to subscribe to multiple streaming services in order to watch every game of their favorite professional team. Mitchell said teams and networks adopted this model to take advantage of fans’ desire to watch their team. 

“Just follow the money,” he said. “Organizations have been able to exploit fan interest.”

Mitchell, like others who follow sports, worries that streaming companies will continue to raise the price for fans to watch their favorite teams.

“Every time you feel like, ‘OK, this is as far as people will go to pay to see a professional team perform,’ they take it to another level,” he said.

Mitchell would like streaming services to be more consistent. He said if fans did not have to keep up with as many streaming services as are currently available, it would be an easier experience for them.

“I’m not saying you go backwards in terms of opportunities to make money, but I would shut at least one of the options for viewership,” he said. “I think fans would appreciate that.”

Related stories:

• Sports romance books that won gold
• How ‘Heated Rivalry’ is changing the NHL, on and off the ice
• ‘Where we belong’: New women’s sports bar coming to Wrigleyville