04/25/24
March 08, 2005
Mike Tice Probed.: An investigation by the NFL for Super Bowl ticket scalping. Wonderful news for the Vikes no doubt, amongst the recent Moss trade and the pending (?) ownership change.
Maybe Tice has a hard time feeding his family! He is the lowest paid head coach in the NFL!
posted by daddisamm at 12:01 AM on March 09, 2005
I hope Tice losses his job. It's ridiculous that someone who makes that kind of money would stoop to something this low. Tice obviously doesn't realize how most people have to work hard for a living just to buy one ticket to a game let alone the Super Bowl. One veteran player on his team was even berated by Tice for asking other players to sell him their tickets instead of Tice. The man is out of control! I say fire him now.
posted by kooncie55 at 03:23 AM on March 09, 2005
The NFL will likely make an "example" of Tice. While, like the story says, everybody scalps tickets, as a head coach Tice has to set an example. They'll burn him for this, but the only bad thing he did here was get caught. While the NFL and other leagues frown on scalping (they lose some money), everybody scalps tickets, from the team to the fans. The price just depends on how big the event and how much someone is willing to pay for that ticket. Simply another aspect of the sports marketplace.
posted by roberts at 05:48 AM on March 09, 2005
This can't be true. Mike Tice isn't smart enough to spell scalp, let alone do the advanced subtraction it would take to understand which number would be higher, the face value or market value.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:16 AM on March 09, 2005
This can't be true. Mike Tice isn't smart enough to spell scalp, let alone do the advanced subtraction it would take to understand which number would be higher, the face value or market value. That's what the pencil behind the ear is for.
posted by cobra! at 09:33 AM on March 09, 2005
allegedly heading up and profiting from a Super Bowl ticket-scalping operation I read this line and thought they were laying it on a little thick, but it really looks like he had a process. We can only hope they raid his house and find a meth lab. (shamelessly trying to inspire google ads selling methamphetamine.)
posted by usfbull at 10:04 AM on March 09, 2005
From the SI article linked above: Still, the practice of scalping Super Bowl tickets is widespread within the league and is an open secret in many NFL locker rooms. Yet the practice in Minnesota is unique, league sources say, because it has been orchestrated by the head coach. From the ESPN article on this story: While the practice of scalping Super Bowl tickets quietly goes on around the league, Minnesota's situation is different because the head coach is allegedly the orchestrator. I know there's only so many ways to say the same thing, but I just thought it was interesting how similar those sections are.
posted by holden at 10:45 AM on March 09, 2005
Maybe the pencil is to conduct the orchestra?
posted by smithers at 01:23 PM on March 09, 2005
One of the articles said he went to sell tickets and came back with $250,000 cash... Even at $1,000 a ticket, thats 250 tickets. More than the 106 given out to the 53 players and 22 given out to each assistant coach. So he was doing this for guys from other teams as well?? It's a racket I tells ya... Geez, even Pete Rose never stooped to scalping.
posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:44 PM on March 09, 2005
now, if only they can expose mike holmgren, the seahawks might have a chance to win.
posted by bigwhisky at 11:24 PM on March 09, 2005
(53 + 22) * 2 * 1,900 = 285,000 Presumably he's selling them for more than $1,900, because the article says that's what he gives the players for their tickets, and you figure he'd make extra. But even if not, if he sold the tickets of 65 people at $1,900, he would have $250,000.
posted by fabulon7 at 08:07 AM on March 10, 2005
Oops, that should probably be: (53 + 11) * 2 * 1900 Still, it's feasible that he would make that kind of money without going outside the team. Plus, I wonder if the IR players and other non-active roster players get tickets?
posted by fabulon7 at 08:09 AM on March 10, 2005
They'll burn him for this, but the only bad thing he did here was get caught. Sheesh. If this is true, don't you think that it's incredibly small time for a guy making $1 million a year to be running a ticket-scalping operation and berating players for "competing" with his business? If there's a termination clause in NFL coaching contracts for being lame, surely Tice must have triggered it.
posted by rcade at 08:57 AM on March 10, 2005
The fact that Tice has been in the saddle longer than one season proves that there's no such clause.
posted by cobra! at 09:08 AM on March 10, 2005
The words "Vikings" and "Super Bowl" haven't been used in the same sentence in almost 30 years. /sad Vikings fan
posted by kirkaracha at 09:12 AM on March 10, 2005
They have, but it's always Red McCombs using them. And then "new" and "stadium" often seem to follow.
posted by cobra! at 10:06 AM on March 10, 2005
...Probed huh huh
posted by garfield at 11:20 AM on March 10, 2005
rcade, since almost all the players make more than $1M/year and since he can "adjust" their salaries if they cooperate, I bet he can get them no problem.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:11 PM on March 10, 2005
I guess I left out that at least they signed Fred Smoot, after all: "Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, the other third is covered by Smoot." But I don't think they had to scalp the Super Bowl tickets to pay for Smoot.