"CHICAGO (Reuters) - Football fans will have to open their wallets wider this season as ticket prices in the
The average price of an NFL ticket is up 7.9 percent, increasing to $72.20. The cost of taking a family of four to an NFL game rose 7.1 percent to $396.36
The New England Patriots topped the league again with an increase of almost 30 percent to an average ticket price of $117.64. It is the only team with an average price in the triple digits. The cost for a family of four at New England games jumped 22.6 percent to $596.25.
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Aren't you happy about Tom's new house and the PROSPECTIVE MANSION you are going to build for his supermodel girlfriend, 'murkn saps?"
Some even MADE $$$ of the whole thing -- as if they needed more.
Why I HATE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS!
"Brady's big score; Condo sales give quarterback a free unit for himself" by Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | September 5, 2008
The superstar quarterback with the supermodel girlfriend has made a super-savvy real estate deal.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady earned back more than he paid two years ago for a building in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood by renovating three condominiums and selling them - and, as a bonus, he kept the top two floors, with a panoramic view of the Charles River, for himself.
Brady purchased the Beacon Street building in May 2006, trading up from a modest condo at Marina Bay in Quincy that lacked water views. He converted the Back Bay town house into four condominiums and closed his third condo sale last week to a South American tycoon. That transaction brings his total proceeds to $7.95 million - $1.71 million more than he paid for the entire building, according to public deed records.
And he also got to live there!!!
The celebrity quarterback sold the condos for premium prices in the same league as Back Bay properties such as The Clarendon, a luxury high-rise under construction nearby. But he probably didn't make a profit - an $11.5 million mortgage he obtained in 2007 indicates he spent big money gut-renovating the building and outfitting his primary residence with triple-plated, sound-proof glass and an interior by Frank Nicholson, who also designed the posh hotel Mandarin Oriental, Boston, according to people close to Brady who did not want to discuss his personal matters publicly. (Brady has paid down an undisclosed portion of the loan, records show.)
In a sense, said Boston real estate agent John Keith, Brady "was able to break even on the sales and get a condo for free. He did pretty well."
How did you do this year, Americans?
Another millionaire sports celebrity might simply buy a condo, decorate it, and move in. But Brady, a three-time Super Bowl winner, went to a lot of trouble to put together a deal to his benefit. Sports experts and real estate agents said the deal smacks of what one might expect of a quarterback with a $22.5 million, three-year NFL contract and multimillion-dollar sponsorships with companies like Nike, Movado watches, and Stetson cologne.
"He's a smart businessman" with "real estate savvy and sophisticated tastes," said Tracy Campion, a Back Bay agent to the rich and famous who listed Brady's Beacon Street condos.
Brady's assistant, Will McDonough, declined to comment.
A Chicago sports marketer, Marc Ganis, said football players have short careers and must carefully manage their money so they aren't broke when they walk off the field for the final time. That might be particularly challenging for Brady, a "crossover celebrity" whose fans - and the general public - expect him to live an expensive lifestyle with his Brazilian supermodel girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen.
Also see: The Sports Sinkhole
"He is one of the most visible off-the-field players in NFL history" and is "expected to have a certain lifestyle, a certain way of traveling, certain homes," said Ganis, president of SportsCorp. Ltd.
Talk about royalty and serfs, this is AmeriKa in 2008?
Does that include the $3,000 suits?
Brady is in the midst of reshuffling his real estate portfolio. TMZ.com, a celebrity news website, reported the quarterback paid $11 million for an empty lot - "a plot of dirt" - near California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles; Brady may build a mansion there for Bundchen.
Isn't that nice, Americans?
Brady can build a MANSION for his girlfriend!!!
How you doin' in that shit shack you call a home, huh?
Brady also has invested in a New York hedge fund. The buyer for all three of Brady's condos in Boston, according to public records, was Andronico Luksic, the vice chairman of Banco de Chile and a member of one of Argentina's wealthiest business families. Boston representatives for Luksic did not return calls seeking comment.
That's who he sold to?
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