IStock Photo 2849615 © Andrii Oleksiienko

Football is the most expensive spectator sport in America, and it’s only getting worse. Over the last year, the average price of an NFL ticket rose 3.9% to $74.99. For movie stars like Will Smith (an Eagles fan) or George Clooney (the Bengals), or tycoons like Donald Trump (the Bills), the increase is hardly noticeable, but other fans find themselves either priced out of the stadium, or—like Jim Nydahl (also the Bills)—dipping into a 401(k) to cover rising costs.

The odds an adult with an income of $25,000 - $49,999 will attend an NFL game in a year are only 1 in 16.13, while the odds an adult with an income of $100,000 or more will attend are nearly 6 times as likely at 1 in 2.86. But football is not only the most expensive sport to watch, it is also the most popular, and some fans, like Nydahl—who has held season tickets since 1961 and has been at every Bills home game except one since he was eight years old—refuse to let money be an obstacle. Even in these tough economic times, there are teams with season ticket waiting lists thousands of names long.

Not surprisingly, the odds a man will shell out the big bucks to attend a game in a year are much greater than the odds a woman will do so (perhaps this is the place to mention that super-fan Nydahl postponed his honeymoon in 1980 to see the Bills-Miami opener). The odds for men are 1 in 10.76—about the same as the odds an adult will go dancing in a year (1 in 10.74). The odds for women are 1 in 18.83—about the same as the odds a person will go hunting in a year (1 in 18.32).

Since teams play only 8 regular season games at home a year, franchises in many cities have no problem with demand for tickets and are able to keep prices high, which sometimes prices out the common fan. According to Team Marketing Report’s Fan Cost Index, a family of four will spend roughly $412 to attend an NFL game in 2009. And if they happen to be fans of the Dallas Cowboys, who just opened a brand new $1.15 billion stadium, they could be looking at a grand total of $758.

Not surprisingly given these steep prices, it’s more likely that a fan will attend only one game in a season (1 in 1.93) than 2-5 games (1 in 3.23). In an attempt to keep fans coming during these tough economic times, the New York Jets, who will be opening their own new stadium for the 2010 season, are cutting prices on some premium seats by as much as 50 percent. That means some $400 seats are being cut to $195, and some $500 seats are being discounted to $295.

But lest you think fans are finally getting a cost break, you should know the Jets will likely make up any losses they incur on the discounted seats through a new charge NFL teams are imposing for access to season tickets. The “Personal Seat License” gives fans the right to buy season tickets after paying a one-time fee that—in the case of the new Jets stadium, for example—can be anywhere from $4,000 to $25,000.

This is causing some fans to be saddled with debt due to lengthy season ticket contracts that are nearly impossible to end. Some fans have even been sued by their favorite teams in an attempt to have those contracts fulfilled despite economic hardships.

Ever-rising ticket prices and the remarkable advances of high-definition television make watching football at home a much more attractive—and affordable—solution for some fans. Historically, blackout rules have protected the NFL against the possibility of fans staying home to watch their favorite team from the comfort of their own home. These rules prevent any game from being televised in its local market if that game is not sold out. In 2008, only 9 of 256 regular season games were unavailable to fans in the local markets and 5 of those games involved the 0-16 Detroit Lions.

Most recently, on November 22, the game between the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions—a matchup of two 1-8 teams—was blacked out on local television. The Lions were roughly 7,000 tickets short of a sellout and, as a result, their game was blacked out in Detroit for the third time in five home games. Unexpectedly, the game turned out to be one of the most entertaining of the season as Detroit won 38-37 on a last second touchdown. Lions fans not rich enough to have seats had to wait for the TV highlights reel.

For those still willing and able to attend NFL games in person, take a lesson from Jim Nydahl. He has never left a game early—and he has been to almost 400 of them.