StubHub Second Annual NFL Preview: Cowboys Remain America's Team, Eagles Responsible for Record-Breaking Demand for London Game

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- StubHub, the world's largest event marketplace, today released its second annual NFL Preview, which includes the highest-selling games, as well as the top in-demand teams, fan gear and ticket trends heading into the 2018 season. New this year, StubHub worked with eBay data analysts to identify the top-trending fantasy players, demonstrating which players are generating the most fan gear sales.

Top highlights include:

• Philadelphia Eagles fans catapult an NFL London game to a number one position
• Dallas Cowboys are StubHub's most in-demand team
• The Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers see the largest growth in demand from last season
• Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants took the #1 spot in eBay sales and searches

EAGLES FANS SEE LONDON CALLING
The most in-demand game takes place outside of the U.S., driven by Philadelphia Eagles fans traveling to see the Super Bowl champions in action across the pond for the NFL London game against the Jaguars. This marks the first time an international game makes StubHub's most in-demand list, let alone tops the list. With 37% of overall sales for the game coming from Pennsylvania, this is the highest amount of sales StubHub has ever seen for an NFL London Game coming from a U.S. state. The Eagles are also the only team new to the top five in-demand teams, with four teams returning from last year.

TRENDING TEAMS
StubHub's #1 in-demand team, going into the season, goes to the Dallas Cowboys for the fifth year in a row, continuing to see overwhelming popularity both at home and on the road. According to StubHub, sales increase by 300% over the average NFL game when the Cowboys are the visiting team, cementing their reign as "America's Team." Echoing those findings, the Cowboys drove the most eBay searches and sales for all NFL teams over the last six months.

"The Cowboys are an iconic franchise with a reputation that continues to draw a crowd season after season," said Scott Jablonski, StubHub's General Manager of NFL, NBA & NHL. "Meanwhile, Eagles fans have always been passionate but their Super Bowl win has truly ignited the fan base to unprecedented levels as we're seeing them willing to travel long distances to watch their team play, including internationally for their game in London."

The Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, show the largest demand growth compared to last season. The Rams have also seen a larger jump in demand on StubHub than any other NFL team over the last four seasons, putting an end to an up-and-down start in Los Angeles.

TOP FIVE FOR FAN GEAR
Digging deeper into player demand, eBay examined merchandise searches and sales for the NFL's top ranked fantasy players to determine who is driving the most excitement ahead of the season's kickoff. When it comes to top players, rookie New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley took the #1 spot in eBay sales and searches for the last six months among the NFL's top ranked fantasy players, followed closely by Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott at #2.

When looking at the last six months, the top ranked fantasy players leading eBay searches were Saquon Barkley of the Giants, Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys, Dalvin Cook of the Vikings, Alvin Kamara of the Saints and Kareem Hunt of the Chiefs. eBay sales for the same period saw Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants break into the top five group, pushing out Dalvin Cook ahead of his anticipated return to the field following a 2017 injury.

"NFL fans are eager to show their support for top rookies, regardless of the demand the team may be driving," said Sam Bright, Vice President of Soft Goods, North America at eBay. "Even though the Giants didn't break the top ten in StubHub's rankings, the excitement for Saquon Barkley is undeniable as we've seen remarkably strong demand since he was drafted in the first round by the Giants in April."

Other insights from this year's preview include:

Trends from the Top 10

• Four new teams move into StubHub's top 10 after missing last year: the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams.
• Some of the biggest jumps on this list come from the 49ers who move thirteen spots to #6,the Rams who move up eleven spots to #10 and the Panthers who move up seven spots to #8.
• Coming off a surprising playoff run in 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars see the largest jump in demand on StubHub since last season.

Best-Selling Openers

• The Dallas Cowboys face the Carolina Panthers for the most in-demand season opening game, outselling the Eagles home opener.
•  A rare opening week rivalry matchup is also seeing strong demand when the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers for the 197th time.

NFL Interest Grows Abroad

• Demand for the NFL London series is up 40% from this time last year with one less game being played.
• Over the last five years, demand is up 333%.
• Buyers from 35 different countries have purchased tickets for the three games so far.

More in-depth insights and data visuals can be found on the StubHub Press Box.

2018 marks the first season that StubHub is the "NFL Authorized Ticket Resale Marketplace." With StubHub directly integrated with all 32 NFL teams, fans have an official, safe and seamless way to buy and sell tickets. Tickets for the 2018 NFL regular season are available on StubHub now.

ABOUT STUBHUB
At StubHub, our mission is simple: bring the joy of live to fans globally. We connect fans with their favorite teams, shows and artists and introduce them to the ones they'll love next. As the largest ticket marketplace in the world, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever they want, through our desktop and mobile experiences, including our StubHub app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Offering a superior fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead through innovation. Our industry firsts include the introduction of the first ticketing application, the first interactive seat mapping tool, and the first live entertainment rewards program. Our business partners include more than 130 properties in MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, plus AEG, AXS and Paciolan, and now the Tessitura Network. StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience throughout the world. StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or YouTube.com/StubHub.

About eBay
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ : EBAY ) is a global commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2017, eBay enabled $88.4 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

SOURCE StubHub

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