NFL ticket prices climbed 3.9 percent to an average of $74.99 for the 2009 season.
According to Team Marketing Report's survey released on Wednesday, 21 teams either kept prices the same or lowered them. The main reason for the percentage increase was the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium that cost $1.2 billion to build.
The average ticket to a Cowboys game costs $159.65, a record for the Fan Cost Index survey, which dates to 1991. The New England Patriots previously had the priciest ticket in U.S. pro sports and that cost remained the same at $117.84.
But the Patriots still have the highest-priced premium ticket average, $566.67.
Not every Cowboys ticket is so pricey. The team offers season tickets as low as $59 per game _ the same price as the cheapest Cincinnati Bengals season ticket _ and they sold out quickly. The Cowboys also offer a $29 "party pass," a standing-room ticket.
Eighteen teams maintained ticket prices, and the Detroit Lions, winless last season, dropped prices 1 percent.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said recently that local TV blackouts of games will be an issue this season, citing the weak economy as a major reason.
