Raiders tops in 2021 NFL ticket revenue, report says

The Raiders led the NFL in net ticket revenue in the 2021 NFL season, the first with fans allowed in Allegiant Stadium.

The $119 million generated from tickets to Raiders games was tops in the league, despite the Raiders ranking just 25th in tickets sold, according to a report released Tuesday by Sportico.

Clark County Commissioner and Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority board member Michael Naft said the Raiders’ financial windfall at the stadium doesn’t only benefit the team.

“The record-setting revenue generated by the Las Vegas Raiders helps boost our entire economy,” Naft said. “It’s the reason why attracting new and diverse businesses to Clark County matters and why we have put such a strong emphasis on enshrining our reputation as the greatest arena on earth. When they’re successful, we all benefit.”

The Raiders and the NFL declined to comment on the report.

The San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants rounded out the top five in ticket revenue.

The total paid attendance for Raiders home games at the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium last season was 600,774, according to numbers provided by the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

There was about a 15 percent difference between paid attendance and actual attendance at Raiders home games last season. This was mainly attributed to fans putting tickets on the secondary market that didn’t resell, or fans deciding not to show up for games because of the vaccine policy in place, Adam Feldman, Raiders vice president, stadium management, programming and guest experience, told the Review-Journal earlier this year.

The Raiders announced there will be no vaccine or mask requirement in place for the 2022 season. Feldman said that should lead to less of a discrepancy between paid and actual attendance

“I think it will change those no-show numbers,” Feldman said. “We can’t think of any other reason why those numbers were the way they were. We think that’s the one variable that will change (the no-show rate) going into the season.”

A sellout for the stadium is 62,500, based on the fixed seating in the general bowl, suites, lodges and Wynn Field Club.

About 54,000 of those are tied to season ticket-holders, who were first required to purchase personal seat licenses. Those PSLs sold out several months before the stadium was completed in July 2020. PSL holders are required to purchase their season-ticket allotment each year, or they risk forfeiting their seats.

The Raiders netted $549 million off those PSL sales. One-hundred percent of that revenue was put back into the stadium and is part of the $2 billion budget for the nearly two-year-old facility.

The Raiders are responsible for around $1.2 billion of the stadium’s construction cost, with $750 million deriving from a 0.88 percent tax on hotel rooms in Clark County and $49 million tied to third-party contributions.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.