Panthers were first to use PSLs

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The idea for stadium seat licenses is generally credited to Max Muhleman, a Charlotte, N.C.-based franchise and stadium consultant.

The Carolina Panthers were the first National Football League team to implement the idea, using PSL revenue to help finance its new stadium, which opened in 1995. PSLs are a one-time fee for the rights to specific seats (and the accompanying season tickets) in a stadium. License holders are required to renew their season tickets with those seats on an annual basis or face forfeiture of their license.

Owning a PSL allows holders to purchase season tickets at face value. With teams such as the Baltimore Ravens that have only a limited number of face-value seats available, those tickets are a hot commodity and can usually be later sold for a profit on independent ticket brokerage sites.

Since the Panthers began selling PSLs, 14 other NFL teams have adopted the practice. Some teams have met more controversy than others when implementing the idea. For example, a number of longtime New York Giants and New York Jets season ticket holders who are retired have said they can’t afford the cost of a PSL to keep comparable seats in the teams’ new stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2010. New York Giants PSLs, for example, cost between $1,000 and $20,000. Some fans will be able to downgrade their seats for the low end, $1,000 PSLs, but some have said they will be forced to give up their tickets.

According to Baker Koppelman, vice president of ticket operations, the Ravens initially sold more than 50,000 PSLs for their future stadium after the team decided to adopt the practice in 1996. (The team played its first two seasons in Memorial Stadium.) Since then, the team has capped the number at 62,000. While fans can sign up for a waiting list (which is sold out at 3,000) to purchase a PSL from the team at face value, they are in for a long wait.

Instead, fans can buy a PSL directly from a license holder who will typically charge a higher fee than the team. Prices fluctuate depending on demand, and individuals can post ads online on sites like Craigslist, eBay, ticket broker sites or the Ravens-sanctioned PSL Marketplace, accessed on the team’s Web site.

Koppelman said that because of the increasing value of Ravens PSLs, the market for licenses has remained strong.

“In my opinion everybody walks away happy,” he said. “[The seller is] happy because they’ve recouped their investment, and the new buyer is happy because he’s now a part of this.”