The expanded College Football Playoff bracket was announced on Sunday, and by the looks of it, fans in Indiana are very excited to see a rare in-state rivalry game as one of the histoy-making first round matchups in December. Tickets for the first round matchup pitting Notre Dame against Indiana are by far the hottest out of the gate, with a minimum “get-in” at around $1,146 – more than three times the low price at any of the other four first-round contests announced by the committee on Sunday.
“Notre Dame and Indiana don’t have any kind of rivalry history, but it’s clear that fans are very excited to see them play this month,” says Ticket Club spokesperson Sean Burns of the soaring prices for the matchup on the ticket resale marketplace. “The rarity of these two in-state rivals playing at all and the relatively minimal travel distance for IU fans, coupled with the fact that Fighting Irish fans are always big in support of their squad is really creating a hot market for that game in particular.”
Notre Dame Stadium is just one of four historic venues set to host first round playoff games in December, as the CFP expands to four round affair after years of being a four-team semifinal and final to decide the national champion. Texas is hosting Clemson as the No. 5 seed, while Ohio State will be visited by the Tennessee Volunteers as the No. 8 seed. The lone first round game with a “get-in” price below $200 as of Monday afternoon is No. 6 seed Penn State against Southern Methodist.
Geography seems to be the biggest factor in the ticket pricing trends in the early-going since the matchups were announced.
The lowest “get-in” price of the entire CFP playoff bracket is currently the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, which serves as the Quarterfinal where No. 4 Arizona State will take on the Texas/Clemson winner. Arizona State is more than 24 hours drive west of Atlanta, with the closest potential school to that venue being Clemson – whose fans will have to travel over 100 miles themselves if their team makes it. The Fiesta Bowl – right in Arizona State’s backyard – is slightly more expensive as of Monday in terms of tickets, but will feature Boise State (14 hr drive) against either Penn State (33 hrs) or SMU (15 hrs).
It is expected that the ticket prices for the quarterfinal and semifinal games won’t really be set until after the first round games are completed. Fans of any first round team that makes it through to the national championship game in Atlanta on January 20th would have to potentially pay for tickets and travel to four separate contests, which is a pretty sizeable investment (though one that has always existed for college basketball aficionados following their squads through three weekends of March Madness).
As things currently stand, Georgia fans may have the best potential ticket-buying and travel situation. The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs will see their fans need to make an approximately 8 hour drive for their quarterfinal game in New Orleans, which currently has a $212 low-end price for tickets. A win there would mean a slightly further drive to Arlington for the Sugar Bowl against the Fiesta Bowl winner (13 hours, $278 “get-in” ticket price). But a berth in the championship would be right in Georgia’s back yard, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (90 minutes, $1,039 “get-in”.)
Compare that with Oregon, which is about 13 hours drive to the Rose Bowl for the top seeded Ducks’ quarterfinal game, followed by cross-country trips to Miami for the Orange Bowl and Atlanta for the championship if they can win out as the top seed.
A full rundown of the current ticket prices (low asking price, median asking price, and average actual sold price) is available below, courtesy of TicketClub.com:
College Football Playoffs Ticket Prices
| Event Name | Date | Location | “Get-In” Price | Median Asking Price | Average Sold Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFP: First Round – (7) Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. (10) Indiana Hoosiers | 12/20/2024 | Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN | $1,146 | $2,289 | $661.57 |
| CFP: First Round – (6) Penn State Nittany Lions vs. (11) Southern Methodist Mustangs | 12/21/2024 | Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA | $186 | $301 | $322.89 |
| CFP: First Round – (5) Texas Longhorns vs. (12) Clemson Tigers | 12/21/2024 | Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX | $336 | $773 | $524.38 |
| CFP: First Round – (8) Ohio State Buckeyes vs. (9) Tennessee Volunteers | 12/21/2024 | Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH | $356 | $633 | $395.21 |
| Fiesta Bowl – CFP Quarterfinal: (3) Boise State Broncos vs. PSU/SMU winner | 12/31/2024 | State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ | $197 | $472 | $391.36 |
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – CFP Quarterfinal: (4) Arizona State Sun Devils vs. TEX/CLEM winner | 1/1/2025 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA | $120 | $217 | $211.04 |
| Rose Bowl – CFP Quarterfinal: (1) Oregon Ducks vs. OSU/TENN winner | 1/1/2025 | Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA | $321.44 | $561.12 | $303.68 |
| Sugar Bowl – CFP Quarterfinal: (2) Georgia Bulldogs vs. ND/IND winner | 1/1/2025 | Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA | $212 | $411 | $344.62 |
| Orange Bowl – CFP Semifinal: Rose Bowl v Peach Bowl winner | 1/9/2025 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL | $297 | $712 | $315.50 |
| Cotton Bowl – CFP Semifinal: Fiesta Bowl v Sugar Bowl winner | 1/10/2025 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX | $278 | $686 | $392.00 |
| College Football Playoff National Championship | 1/20/2025 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA | $1,039 | $3,433 | $1,656.00 |
You can browse College Football Playoff tickets at TicketClub.com. TicketNews readers are welcome to create an account and access member-discount prices by using the code TICKETNEWS.
