A New Jersey businessman has filed a lawsuit against the National Football League, claiming that it is withholding Super Bowl tickets from the public and allowing resale prices to soar out of the reach of many fans.

Josh Finkelman, who said he spent $4,000 on two tickets to the Feb 2. championship game, sued in federal court, accusing the NFL of violating the state Consumer Fraud Act, which the lawsuit says prohibits companies issuing tickets to withhold more than 5 percent of available seating to the public.

According to the lawsuit, filed on Monday, the NFL allocates only 1 percent of tens of thousands of Super Bowl tickets to the general public through a lottery system.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The rest of the fans who want to attend the game are left to the mercy of secondary sales, in which ticket prices might be inflated many times their face value, especially if they are part of a package that includes parties, luxury hotels or limousine rides to the MetLife stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey, the complaint said.

The NFL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“It’s unfair the fans can’t get tickets like everyone else for the game,” said Finkelman, a 28-year-old warehouse distributor from New Brunswick, New Jersey.

The NFL is violating state law, said Finkelman’s attorney Bruce Nagel.

“We have a statute in New Jersey that prevents the NFL from doing what they are doing,” Nagel said. “When the NFL has the Super Bowl in New Jersey, they have to open their eyes to New Jersey law.”

The class-action lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation.

The MetLife stadium can seat more than 82,000 people.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount