Bay Area soccer tickets among the highest on the resale market
Why it matters: That's the eighth-highest among U.S. metros — and the priciest in California.
State of play: Victory Live, a company that analyzes ticketing data, analyzed sales on the secondary market for the Club World Cup, international friendlies and matches in the USL, MLS and NWSL.
Tickets for matches in New York, Houston and Miami sold for the most on average.
Tickets to see Lionel Messi and Inter Miami face off against the San Jose Earthquakes in May were the hottest for Bay Area soccer fans, with an average sold price of $474.
By the numbers: The average prices of major soccer matches in the Bay Area sold from Jan. 1 through July 19 were:
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USA Today
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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
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New York Times
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In the transcript of an online chat between Topps and Denis viewed by The Athletic, the card company's rep said, 'Recently Messi has changed the style of his autograph, which it seems PSA has not updated their standards.' The issue that occurred for David Rodriguez of Clarksville, Ind. involving his Messi autographed card from Topps Dynasty — arguably the company's premier set — brought this issue to the forefront for many within the hobby. Rodriguez said he spent $1,200 at his local card shop on a box of 2022-23 Topps Dynasty UEFA Champions League, which contains just one card, in August 2024. He opened the box to find a redemption card — an 'IOU' where the owner submits the code to receive an autographed card from the manufacturer at a later date, once the athlete in question has signed — for a Messi patch autograph card. Rodriguez's card carried a minimum estimated value of $4,000. It was the most valuable card he's ever pulled from a pack or box, he said, and he immediately redeemed the card through the Topps website. After four months of waiting, Rodriguez said he spoke to someone from Topps who told him Messi would have a private signing for Dynasty cards and other Topps products. Rodriguez received the card (pictured above) in late January and sent it to PSA. In early February, the grading company alerted Rodriguez it couldn't authenticate the autograph and encouraged him to reach out to Topps. In early March, Topps offered a similar deal to Rodriguez as it had in late February to Bruce. The company would either remake the card with a new autograph to then be shipped to PSA for grading and authentication, or offer a substitution of equal or greater value. The timeframes for a possible remake varied significantly in the cases of Rodriguez and Bruce. Advertisement Bruce's 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks Messi card sported an autograph on a sticker that was affixed to the card. Players often sign sheets of stickers totaling several thousand autographs in a given session, allowing card companies to place the autographed sticker on specific cards at a later date. But Messi would have to sign Rodriguez's card itself, since Dynasty bears on-card autographs. Topps explained in an email to Rodriguez that this 'very lengthy' process could take anywhere from six months to two years. Rodriguez accepted Topps' alternative offer of a card or cards of equal or greater value, assuming the wait time for a Messi replacement would be closer to two years. Topps sent Rodriguez two autographed rookie cards: one of Lamine Yamal and the other of Shohei Ohtani. After grading, the two cards are worth an estimated $6,000, which is nearly $2,000 more than the last sale of the questioned Messi Dynasty card. Mahan said during The National that Topps has been more able to offer replacement Messi autographed cards at this point rather than alternative offers like they had when the issue first arose. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
