Chiefs have found answer to stay-at-home fan trend: Be entertaining and have Patrick Mahomes

A season-ticket purchase is something of a leap of faith because there’s no telling how the team will perform. To some, holding off and buying individual game tickets may be the better option.

But not this year, not when it comes to the Chiefs.

In another example of the Patrick Mahomes effect, Chiefs season-ticket holders are being rewarded for their early decision to buy.

The AFC West-leading Chiefs, 6-1, prepare to meet the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium in a game with the highest ticket demand to date, according to the team — not to mention a large increase in price over last year at this time.

The seasons are comparable. In 2017, the Chiefs took a 5-2 record into their week eight game, also at home against the Broncos. It was on Monday Night Football.

According to the Chiefs, both games were sold to capacity, but ticket prices on primary and secondary markets have seen large increases this year. Tickets two days before last year’s game went for $70. The same seats on Friday were going for $145-$175.

The season-ticket price for those seats for a game: $46-$55, according to the Chiefs.

And last week, some 3,000 tickets for the Chiefs-Bengals game were sold on the secondary market the day of the game.

“It’s compelling because it drives value to the season ticket,” said Tyler Kirby, the Chiefs’ vice president of ticketing. “The person who committed early and invested early is getting a much better deal.”

The Chiefs, like any team, want to sell season tickets. It’s money in the bank. But season-ticket sales entering the season this year were flat compared to last year. The organization was seeing a boost in attention because of Mahomes, who had started one NFL game in his rookie season, but ticket-buying fans initially took a wait-and-see approach.

Now, they’re paying more to see one of the NFL’s most dynamic teams with a budding star in Mahomes, who leads the league touchdown passes, with 22 — the most by a quarterback after his first eight starts in NFL history — and who ranks second in passing yards, at 2,223.

In a sense, the Chiefs have found a response to a fan trend of passing on live action to watch the game from the comfort of home.

“It’s not just the wins,” Kirby said. “It’s the entertainment value.”

Several additions and upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium over the past few years were made to accommodate fans. But nothing entices like a team that wins while it entertains. That’s been the Chiefs, who are ranked third in the NFL in total offense and fifth in passing offense.

Kirby said season tickets are available for the Chiefs’ remaining games, but there’s a catch. You can buy tickets for the rest of 2018 but you’d also be required to put down a deposit for a season ticket in 2019. Also included is the right to buy playoff tickets for this season.