The Cleveland Browns have been back in the NFL for two decades, and they have been bad for most of it, so it’s not exactly a surprise that it has been over 10 years since they last raised their ticket prices, which is in contrast to what you would see for pretty much any other team in the league during that timespan.
While the Browns came up just shy of posting its first winning record in that time, it was enough of an improvement—seven and a half wins better than their 0-16 season—with enough room for optimism for the future, and for 2019, that they elected to raise their ticket prices for the first time in 11 years.
“After thoroughly evaluating stadium pricing, attendance and various factors across the league, we decided to adjust ticket pricing in certain sections of FirstEnergy Stadium in 2019”, the team said about the decision in a statement.
“We greatly appreciate the passion and support from Browns season ticket members and fans, and when we considered implementing a new pricing structure, one of our most important priorities was ensuring all fans have affordable options to attend home games”.
While some prices remained the same or even decreased, more than half of the ticket prices will be increased this year from 2018. They have even cut ticket prices in the past due to poor performance, but even with the raise, they will still be among the cheapest teams to watch.
The excitement surrounding the team has almost everything to do with Baker Mayfield, the first-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The quarterback threw 27 touchdown passes last year while only starting 13 games, which was an NFL rookie record that was owned jointly by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.
In addition to that, the removal of Hue Jackson had been a long time coming, and Freddie Kitchens will be their new head coach. He turned the offense around in a mid-season promotion, and he will continue to call the plays for his young quarterback even though they hired an offensive coordinator.
While there is optimism, the Browns are still facing a pivotal offseason. They need to have a strong couple of months in free agency and the draft in order to sustain the momentum that they picked up in the second half of 2018. There are still plenty of areas of the team that can be reinforced or upgraded, such as wide receiver and cornerback.
