Lionel Messi Debut Tickets Take Backseat to Eagles vs. Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots tickets are the most sought-after and most expensive, even beating out a ticket to Lionel Messi's U.S. debut with Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi’s debut with Inter Miami is coming up on Friday, July 21, and it’s a ticket that is highly sought-after and not cheap. Regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time and arguably the most famous athlete in the world, Messi’s decision to play in the U.S. was a huge story when it was announced at the end of May.

But still, it’s not the hottest ticket on the market or the most expensive, at least for the moment.

That distinction goes to the Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots season-opener on Sunday, Sept. 10 at Gillette Stadium. The game is scheduled for a 4:25 kickoff, and you will need some deep pockets to attend, with the cost of one ticket coming in at $391.

Messi’s game against Mexican team Cruz Azul in the opener of the inaugural Leagues Cup Tournament is $307, per gambling.com. The match will be played at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Coming in third is the NFL’s kickoff game between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, with the cost of a ticket checking in at $281.

While it is the first game Philly will play as the defending NFC champion, the big allure of the game, and thus the high demand and cost for a ticket, probably has to do with Tom Brady.

The former Patriots' great quarterback, who retired this past offseason, will have his No. 12 retired by the team. It’s going to be a challenging environment for the Eagles to play in, with the festivities and hoopla surrounding Brady.

It’s not the only NFL game Week 1 game that has high ticket demand. There are 14 other season-opening NFL games that are in the top 20 regarded as the most expensive ticket and hard to get. 

Two others in that category are preseason games, including the Hall of Fame game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets on Aug. 3 (ranked ninth with a ticket priced at $109) and a Week 2 preseason game between the Las Vegas Raiders and San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 13 (ranked 11th with a ticket priced at $96).

The other two games to break into the top 20, in addition to Messi’s debut, are major league baseball contests scheduled for Friday night: the Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves on Friday night (ranked 15th with a ticket priced at $59) and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angles (ranked 19th with the cost of a ticket at $43).

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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