The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2023 NFL season with three NFC Championship Game appearances in four seasons.
The Washington Commanders just now ended the ill-fated quarter-century tenure of former owner Daniel Snyder. Washington has earned all of one playoff win over the past 23 years.
So, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that these two teams are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to ticket sales and revenue.
According to Sportico, San Francisco ranked first among NFL teams a season ago in net ticket revenue with $136 million. The Dallas Cowboys sold the most tickets but finished second behind the 49ers in ticket revenue.
Meanwhile, Washington sold the fewest tickets in the league a season ago while generating $65 million in net revenue, good for 28th among 32 teams.
San Francisco’s revenue has gained boosts twice in the past three years. The team raised ticket prices ahead of the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.
As far as overall ticket revenue, the Arizona Cardinals ranked 32nd with the Jacksonville Jaguars coming in 31st. Both were impacted by having to ‘host” a game abroad last season. Surprisingly, the Cincinnati Bengals came in at 30th.
Related: Updated 2023 NFL power rankings
San Francisco 49ers 2022 record: 13-4, 1st-place NFC West
With San Francisco being seen as a top-end title contender heading into the 2023 season, revenue won’t be an issue in Northern California. That’s magnified with home dates against big draws such as the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens at home.
As for the Washington Commanders, they are starting a new era with Josh Harris having just recently finalized his purchase of the NFL franchise for a record $6.05 billion.
We’re already seeing more interest with fans showing up to Commanders training camp at a high clip during the summer. Whether that leads to on-field success for the struggling organization remains to be seen.