The Minnesota Vikings found an effective but expensive way this week to increase their in-stadium presence during Sunday night's winner-take-all NFC North matchup with the host Detroit Lions.
The team purchased roughly 1,900 tickets near the Ford Field visitor's bench on the secondary market, ESPN confirmed Saturday, at roughly $1,000 per ticket -- or just under $2 million in total. The Vikings then offered them to team-based stakeholders at a cost that ranged from $200 to $300 per ticket, ESPN confirmed.
In a statement, the Vikings said: "Given the uniqueness of this game, we wanted to offer our stakeholders -- staff, family, season ticket members and team partners -- an opportunity to attend."
The Lions declined to comment when reached by ESPN.
The series of transactions is unusual but within NFL rules, highlighting the significance of Sunday's game to both teams. The winner will clinch the NFC North title as well as the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed with a first-round bye, while the loser will be the No. 5 seed and open the playoffs on the road in the wild-card round.
Sports Illustrated first reported news of the Vikings' ticket acquisition.