Getty Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai (C) looks on during the first half between the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors
The tumultuous offseason the Brooklyn Nets had was obviously well-documented this summer. Kyrie Irving, after a roller-coaster season in Brooklyn with his refusal to get vaccinated and New York City’s vaccine mandate keeping him out of over 50 games last season, followed by a dramatic summer of contract negotiations. Then, when Irving opted into the final year of his contract in Brooklyn, Kevin Durant requested a trade right after. How the Nets handled their negotiations with Irving was cited as a reason that Durant made the demand.
The drama swirling around the Durant and Irving situation took up a majority of the offseason, and just weeks before camp, they got the news that Durant would rescind his trade demand after issuing the team an ultimatum. Not only is the Nets’ dysfunction from this summer well-documented in the copious amounts of trade rumor content that was made this summer, but it was also reflected in the team’s season ticket sales.
Nets Lowest in Season Ticket Sales
After the summer the Nets had, it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that fans were reluctant to buy season tickets, especially after they had a spike on some season tickets up to 50% in price even amid the uncertainty. Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis shared this in an October 25 report for the New York Post.
“The Brooklyn Nets are dead last in the NBA when it comes to season ticket sales — with demand off more than 30% from last year as the new season tips off, sources told The Post.
For the 2022-23 campaign, billionaire Joe Tsai’s money-losing franchise had sold roughly 5,500 season tickets at the 17,732-seat Barclays Center, according to an NBA owner and an insider who both saw a recent confidential league report…
Last season, single-game sales buttressed the season ticket total to help the Nets finish 10th in average paid attendance, according to NBA confidential financials obtained by The Post — not far behind crosstown rival Knicks. The Nets drew 14,919 per game, a 26.3% spike from the previous non-pandemic year, generating $2.15 million in average net gate receipts, a 108.5% increase year-over-year, according to the data.”
What Has Caused the Ticket Spike?
While it’s not clear what exactly caused a ticket spike for the Nets, last year Kosman and Lewis also reported that the team had lost $50-100 million last season due to having one of the highest player payrolls in the league.
“The Nets have increased overall revenue by about 40 percent since 2018-19, but that only puts them in line with teams in similarly sized markets and not among the league’s best, the NBA source said,” Lewis and Kosman write.
A rise in ticket prices can help the Nets break even on payroll costs. Currently, the team’s average gate was $2.1 million per game, fourth in the league. To break even on their payroll losses, they would have to double that with gate receipts of $4.2 million per game, which is what the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors have with similar payrolls.
The first two games of the 2022-23 NBA season for the Nets have been sellouts despite the rise in ticket pricing. However, those are just individual game prices, and those don’t boost season ticket sales. The Nets are struggling so far at the start of the season, but perhaps if momentum builds, they can start climbing the league’s season ticket rankings, but for now, the team sits last in the NBA.