If you were trying to snag alabama football tickets 2023 during Nick Saban’s last ride in Tuscaloosa, you already know it was a chaotic, expensive, and ultimately legendary year. Honestly, the market for these seats was a fever dream. People talk about the "Bama tax" like it’s some mythical surcharge, but in 2023, it was very real and very steep.
Between the high-stakes showdown with Texas and that nail-biter against LSU, the demand was relentless.
The price of admission at Bryant-Denny
Most fans assume that if you just wait until game day, prices will drop. That’s a gamble that usually ends in heartbreak at the corner of University Blvd and Wallace Wade Ave. In 2023, Alabama's home schedule was basically a "Who's Who" of college football royalty. When the university released single-game tickets back in July of that year, the "cheap" seats for games like Middle Tennessee and Chattanooga were going for around $25 in the upper deck. But nobody was going to Tuscaloosa just for the cupcake games.
The real madness happened with the heavy hitters. By the time the season kicked off, face value didn't mean a thing.
What it actually cost to get through the gates
For the big SEC matchups, public inventory was essentially nonexistent before the first whistle even blew. If you wanted to see the Arkansas homecoming game, you were looking at $80 just for a basic upper-deck spot—and that was the "official" price. On the secondary market? Good luck.
✨ Don't miss: What Place Is The Phillies In: The Real Story Behind the NL East Standings
Here is the thing: Alabama averaged 100,077 fans per game in 2023. That is 100% capacity. Every. Single. Game.
- Texas (Sept 9): This was the toughest ticket in years. Since it was the "Allstate Crossbar Classic," the hype was off the charts. Prices on SeatGeek and StubHub for the lowest tier seats often stayed well north of $300.
- Tennessee (Oct 21): The "Third Saturday in October" always brings out the crazy. After the 2022 loss in Knoxville, Bama fans were desperate for revenge. You couldn't find a decent seat for less than a car payment.
- LSU (Nov 4): A night game in T-Town against Jayden Daniels? Forget about it. The energy was electric, and the ticket prices reflected that intensity.
Why Alabama football tickets 2023 were a different beast
There was a weird vibe in 2023. People didn't know it was Saban's final season, but there was this underlying feeling that every game mattered more than usual. Maybe it was the early loss to Texas that put everyone on edge. It turned every subsequent home game into an "elimination" game for the College Football Playoff.
You've gotta understand the TIDE PRIDE system too. It isn't just about the ticket price; it's about the "contribution." For the 2023 season, non-premium season tickets were set at $450, but that doesn't include the donation required to even have the right to buy them. Some of those TIDE PRIDE contributions were adjusted that year to "better reflect market value," which is basically code for "it’s getting more expensive."
The student struggle
Students have it a bit better, but it's still a grind. UA offered full packages for around $130 and partial ones for about $80. But if you weren't one of the lucky ones to get a package, you were stuck using the Student Ticket Exchange. This is a moderated platform where students buy and sell among themselves. It prevents the scams you see on Facebook, but the demand still drives those prices up for the big games.
🔗 Read more: Huskers vs Michigan State: What Most People Get Wrong About This Big Ten Rivalry
Away games and the SEC Championship scramble
Buying tickets for games not in Tuscaloosa was a whole different headache. When the Tide traveled to Auburn for the Iron Bowl, tickets were hovering around $205. That seems "cheap" compared to some of the home games, but getting your hands on them through the official Bama allotment required a massive amount of "Tide Totals" priority points.
Basically, if you haven't been donating for decades, you're buying on the secondary market.
Then came the SEC Championship against Georgia. The "get-in" price for Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was astronomical. We're talking $500+ for the nosebleeds. But for the fans who saw Bama pull off that 27-24 upset to ruin Georgia's winning streak? They'll tell you it was worth every penny.
What we learned from the 2023 market
If you’re looking back at the 2023 season to figure out how to handle future tickets, there are a few hard truths to swallow.
💡 You might also like: NFL Fantasy Pick Em: Why Most Fans Lose Money and How to Actually Win
First, the "waiting list" is a long game. To even get a sniff of season tickets, you have to join the Football TIDE PRIDE Waiting List. Second, SeatGeek is now the official secondary marketplace for Alabama, which has made the process a little more secure than the old days of meeting a guy behind a BBQ joint.
Actionable steps for future Bama ticket hunting:
- Join the list now: If you ever want season tickets, get on the TIDE PRIDE waiting list today. It takes years, so the best time to start was yesterday.
- Watch the "Tide Totals" deadlines: If you are a donor, May 15th is usually the cutoff for calculating priority points. This determines where you sit for away games and postseason play.
- Use the 48-hour rule: For mid-tier SEC games (like an Arkansas or a Mississippi State), ticket prices on secondary markets often dip slightly about 48 to 72 hours before kickoff as "pro" sellers try to unload remaining stock.
- Verify your mobile delivery: Alabama moved fully to mobile ticketing in 2023. If someone offers you a paper ticket for a game at Bryant-Denny, it’s almost certainly a scam or a "souvenir" replica. Everything must go through the Crimson Tide mobile app.
The 2023 season was a landmark moment in college football history. Whether you were there for the "Milroe Miracle" at the Iron Bowl or watched the sunrise in Tuscaloosa before the LSU game, the cost of those tickets bought more than just a seat—it bought a spot in the final chapter of the greatest coaching run in the history of the sport.