The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been among the worst teams in the NFL after a surprising 2-0 start to the season. Despite winning last week against the equally hapless San Francisco 49ers, Dirk Koetter’s squad has come out on top just twice in its past nine games.
The issue here has been a lack of any real competitiveness, as the Bucs have yielded an average of 31 points per game this season.
After seeing last week’s game draw the lowest attendance to Raymond James Stadium since all the way back in 2010, the Bucs are doing something to remedy this. In fact, they’re giving away free tickets for Sunday’s game against the division-rival Carolina Panthers.
BREAKING: After the smallest actual crowd in more than eight years witnessed Tampa Bay beat the 49ers at Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs are offering season pass members two complimentary tickets each for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) November 29, 2018
Those are some drastic measures right there. Obviously, seeing a stadium half-empty is not good optics for a team. But the idea of handing out free tickets is foreign in today’s NFL.
The good news? Sunday’s game comes against a quarterback in Cam Newton who remains one of the hottest tickets in the NFL. Maybe that will lead to an uptick in attendance. Then again, it’s free. Who wouldn’t want that deal?