The Georgia Bulldogs find themselves in a very privileged position this post-season based on their season body of work. They are getting ready to play in the 5th SEC championship under Kirby Smart. The Dawgs sit atop the CFP rankings. A win Saturday would give them first choice of playoff site location, which would more than likely be back in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the SEC Championship game.
And they're a likely favorite to repeat as national champion, ahead of the title game in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. It seems as that success, and repetition of playing sites is affecting the ticket value of this weekend's game in Atlanta, dropping prices to an amount not seen in recent years.
Chip Towers of the AJC reported that the SEC championship isn't even the most expensive championship game ticket this weekend. That belongs to the Big 10, with a get in price of $192 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The SEC get in price is $185, which falls well below the get in price of UGA/Bama last year at $432.
There are several factors contributing to this. Win or lose, Georgia is guaranteed a playoff spot. And if that spot turns out to be here in Atlanta again, vs potentially USC, or even Ohio State, that's a much higher profile game than vs a two loss LSU team. If UGA does advance to the CFP Championship Game in L.A., many Georgia fans would probably want to make that trip as well.
It's easy to understand the appeal of waiting to see what happens this weekend before making the next ticket purchase for the Dawgs, and it seems like that's what happening right now. All UGA current successes aside, fans are playing the long game with this team. There's a hope to see them hoist the trophy again, and Georgia would want to take over Los Angeles the same way they took over Indianapolis this past January.
Steak and Sandra broke down this very subject on today Steakhouse, and debated just what the actual appeal of seeing this game live this weekend really is. Could this weekend's hottest ticket actually end up being the Falcons and Steelers? You can hear that audio below.