If you’re struggling to afford tickets to the NBA Finals, don’t feel bad. Apparently, even millionaires like New York Jets star Garrett Wilson are getting sticker shock.
The Jets star recently revealed that he won’t be attending the NBA Finals showdown between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs because the ticket prices are simply too insane.
And this is coming from a player who earns roughly $32.5 million per year. Let that sink in.
Most fans looked at Finals ticket prices and immediately accepted that watching from their couch was the financially responsible decision. Wilson looked at the same prices, checked his bank account, and apparently came to the exact same conclusion.
On one resale sight at the time of writing, the cheapest ticket for Game 3 in New York is going for more than $4,700, with seats at Game 6 on sale for $5,100-plus. The most expensive Game 6 ticket listed is available for $224,000.
That is too much even for Wilson, the Jets wide receiver who last year agreed to a four-year deal worth $130million. His average salary is $32.5m a year.
‘I’m glad I’m up here for it – I’m rooting the Knicks on like hell,’ Wilson said. But when asked if he would be going to any of the games, he replied: ‘Them jawns are expensive. So, not yet. I’m gonna be watching.’
The Knicks are making their long-awaited return to the NBA Finals, facing the Spurs and their alien-sized superstar Victor Wembanyama in a rematch of the famous 1999 Finals.
So naturally, demand for tickets has gone completely off the rails.
Wilson said the Knicks are inspiring the Jets to end their 15-year playoff drought – the longest active skid in North American sports.
‘The city deserves it,’ he continued. ‘Then, when you see the way they receive it, it’s just like we wish it could happen every year. Seeing the people, the way they get behind their team.
‘I know Jet fans are frothing at the mouth to cheer like that, and we want to give it to them. I personally want to give it to them the most.’
Wilson continued: ‘That gives us a taste of what it might look like when we figure this thing out… we’re excited for the opportunity.’
Meanwhile, some Knicks fans seem perfectly willing to empty savings accounts, max out credit cards, and possibly trade family heirlooms just to witness history inside Madison Square Garden.
That’s what happens when your team finally reaches the Finals.
