It's Not Just Bowl Games, CFB Playoff Games Aren't Drawing Much Interest

It's becoming painfully obvious that the traditional college football bowl season is on life support. 

Bowl games left and right, outside of the legendary Pop-Tarts Bowl, are struggling. Fans aren't as interested in lesser matchups, as the expanded College Football Playoff draws top teams. The transfer portal has completely changed roster composition, with starters, backups and key players opting out left and right. Even with players now receiving income from name, image and likeness rights, those declaring for the NFL Draft have backed out of playing and risking injury. 

The declining interest has been reflected in attendance figures. 

RELATED: Is Bowl Season Effectively Dead, Or Can It Be Saved?

For example, the crowd at the LA Bowl between the Washington Huskies and Boise State Broncos was awful, with tens of thousands of open seats. Not every bowl has emptied out to that extent, but without either a strong tradition, big, local, opponent, or compelling hook, there's little excitement around most of the schedule.

In theory, the playoff should be immune to those issues. Obviously, there are stakes that don't exist in other bowls. Most teams involved are big programs with large fanbases. And many of the games are played at historic venues or with historic importance. The Rose Bowl, for example, is called "The Granddaddy of Them All" for a reason. 

Yet as some new ticket data shows, even the playoff is facing problems. And there are clear reasons why.

Ty Simpson of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts at the end of the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

CFB Playoff Games Having Problems Drawing Fans

As X account "GFed" posted on Monday, ticket prices for the New Year's Day Playoff Games are extremely, shockingly low. 

The Rose Bowl is the biggest bowl game of the year, an easy sellout that routinely sees ticket prices go well above face value. If the game involves local teams like the USC Trojans, or big Midwestern brands like Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State, get-in prices could soar well into the hundreds. Even in the era in which the game was "just" for bragging rights and not a playoff quarterfinal. 

This year though, even with programs that have big followings like Indiana and Alabama, get-in prices have dropped to just around $120. That's cheaper than it was nearly two decades ago. 

Incredibly, it's also possible that the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl games won't sell out. Tickets are widely available for CFB Playoff games in the $50-80 range, cheaper than many regular-season home games for big programs. The Cotton Bowl in particular is surprising, considering the power and size of the Miami and Ohio State fanbases. 

So what's the explanation for this? Well, as the post indicates, it's extremely tough to ask fans to travel to various locations across the country week after week to follow their favorite team. For example, Alabama, was it to advance, would go from Norman to Pasadena to Atlanta to Miami. That's simply not a realistic travel schedule for most fans. 

Oregon fans have it worse. Even after hosting a home playoff game in round one, they'd be going Eugene-Miami-Atlanta-Miami. The vast majority of Ducks fans are based on the West Coast, making repeated trips to the south a tough sell. 

Logistics are becoming a significant problem for the playoff, in a way that they're not in other sports. Playoffs are played at home venues in the NFL, outside the Super Bowl, in Major League Baseball, the NHL or NBA. But in order to preserve the historic Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and so on, college football has adopted the neutral site model. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't really work. Those games were full in the past because it was the only game fans had to get to. Ohio State fans only had to go to Pasadena. Oregon fans only had to go to say, Dallas. Whatever the case may be. Now though, it's a mess. And the lack of interest shows how unsustainable it is. 

Playing one more round of games at home stadiums would help. But it's hard to see the big bowl games losing out on marquee matchups. So instead, we'll get open seats and less exciting crowds.