I’m on the record saying that I like the Eagles in Brazil, because it’s an opportunity to enter a new market and be one of the first two teams to play in South America, which is known for having some of the most passionate and diehard sports fans on the planet.

The people who don’t like it, and who are getting screwed, live on this continent, and they’re Eagles season ticket holders, who lose a home game and might be paying more in 2024 depending on where they sit.

For a singular example, a season ticket member emailed me earlier in the week with a year-over-year comparison of how their bill has gone up since 2022. They’ve got three separate pairs of seats, six total, spread across three sections, which breaks out this way:

  • 2022: – 10 home games, (9 regular season, 1 preseason), 8 away regular season, 2 away preseason ($10,294)
  • 2023: – 10 home games (8 regular season, 2 preseason), 9 away regular season, 1 away preseason ($11,400)
  • 2024: – 9 home games (8 regular season, 1 preseason), 1 “home” Brazil regular season, 8 away regular season, 2 away preseason ($12,305)

The six-seat, total cost for emailer has increased about $2,000 in two seasons.

They told me, that from 2023 to 2024, the pair of seats in the first section went up $400, the pair of seats in the second section stayed the same, and the pair of seats in the third section increased $100. STH is paying $500 more this year for one fewer game. They were also invoiced $405 for nine games of parking, which is usually $450 for 10 games, so they at least got that minor adjustment since they’re not getting in the car and hauling ass to Sao Paulo.

The quirk here is the NFL shifting to the 17-game schedule a few years ago. It used to be simple to divide up the 16 games in blocks of 8 home, 8 away, and two home preseason games and two away preseason games. Easy. With the new setup, you’re still getting your 10 home games, but alternating between 9 regular season/1 preseason and 8 regular season/2 preseason.

In the case of London in 2018, when Wendell Smallwood balled out, that counted as a home game for the Jag-wires, so the Birds still got their eight at the Linc. The Brazil game is different, and throws the whole thing out of whack. For all intents and purposes, it essentially functions as a balancing neutral site game when you consider that the Birds will play eight at the Linc, eight at opposing venues, and then the one in Sao Paulo. But it’s categorized as a “home” game and therefore STH lose their game and get nothing in return.

Nobody is naive to think that season tickets will not increase over time, especially as teams improve and become contenders. We’ve seen it happen here and across the country in every major sport. And while our emailer is only one person with one experience, I’m not aware of any kind of compensation or related perk to offset the loss of the home game due to the Brazil situation. If your experience is different, give me a shout at [email protected].