Sports Illustrated Tickets, which launched in June 2021, joins Ticketmaster and SeatGeek as participants in the NFL Ticketing NetworkGetty Images
The NFL is adding Sports Illustrated Tickets to its NFL Ticketing Network in a multiyear deal that begins this fall with the 2024 season. Sports Illustrated Tickets, which
launched in June 2021, joins Ticketmaster and SeatGeek as participants in the program, which makes them an officially recognized licensed channel partner and enables Sports Illustrated Tickets, a secondary ticketing marketplace, to integrate into the NFL’s primary ticketing inventory and become part of the NFL’s official ticketing ecosystem. Sources said the ticketing companies pay seven figures annually for the official NFL ticketing channel partners designation.
Sports Illustrated Tickets replaces StubHub, which was involved at the start of the
NFL’s open ticketing marketplace concept in 2017 but has backed away from several league-wide-type deals (MLB, Paciolan, and now the NFL) since being bought by original founder Eric Baker in a prolonged transaction that finally closed in Sept. 2021.
The NFL deal should greatly increase Sports Illustrated Tickets' exposure as it tries to gain market share in a competitive ticket resale landscape where StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, and even Ticketmaster, have superior brand recognition. Sports Illustrated Tickets, which debuted as SI Tix then switched to SI Tickets before settling on Sports Illustrated Tickets, touts no-fee transparency in its transactions with customers.
