According to a new study by the sports platform The Lines, 56% of sports fans in the state of Texas said that following their favorite team is becoming too expensive, turning it into a luxury instead of an affordable hobby.
With the rising costs of sports streaming subscriptions, tickets, travel, and merch, how affordable is it to be a sports fan today? Ahead of the costly holiday season, TheLines.com surveyed 3,000 sports fans in the United States to find an answer to this question. Read on for more information.
Key Findings
According to The Lines, 78% of Texas sports fans said that being a fan got more expensive this past year, with sports streaming and cable costs most often named as the biggest increase. 22% canceled their cable or sports streaming subscription in the past year due to rising prices.
Texas sports fans skipped an average of 2.4 games in the past year because the tickets were too expensive. 37% lied to friends or family at least once about not wanting to attend a game because they couldn’t afford a ticket. 60% plan to cut back on team-related spending this Black Friday and Christmas due to rising prices.
How Do Texas Sports Fans Compare to the Rest of the United States?
More than half of Texas sports fans are feeling the financial effects of sports fandom, but where do they compare to the rest of their United States counterparts? There isn’t a major difference, given the United States’ inflation at about 3.7% year-over-year, with core inflation near 3%, but these statistics are something to think about.
Sports fandom is getting expensive. 79% of U.S. sports fans said that following their favorite team has gotten more expensive in the past year. In terms of professional sports leagues, 84% said that MLB has gotten costly, 79% said the NFL, 78% said the NBA and/or NHL, and 77% said the MLS.
Sports fans cited cable and streaming fees as their biggest price hike, with 23% of them canceling their cable or streaming subscription and 16% downgrading their subscription. In terms of tickets, the average sports fan skipped 2.3 games in the past year because tickets were too expensive. 38% admitted to lying to family and friends about not wanting to attend a game because they couldn’t afford a ticket.
Sports fans’ favorite teams are becoming more expensive as 57% said that following their favorite team is turning into a luxury instead of an affordable hobby. 47% feel less connected to their team when they can’t afford to go to games or buy merchandise, 57% bought cheaper merchandise to save money, and 60% plan to reduce team-related spending on Black Friday and Christmas due to rising prices.
Methodology
TheLines.com surveyed 3,000 U.S. sports fans nationwide for the 2026 Sports Fandom Cost Study in September 2026. They examined how the cost of being a sports fan has increased and how this impacts the fan experience. They asked respondents about their state of residence, the primary sports league they follow, and the extent to which they have experienced economic changes related to being a fan and following their favorite team.
Respondents were asked about which expenses increased the most in their experience and how the price hikes affected their spending on sports streaming subscriptions, cable fees, merchandise purchases, and stadium attendance. Respondents were also asked about their planned spending for Black Friday and Christmas.
In terms of gender and age, 76% of respondents identified as male, 23% as female, and 1% as non-binary. The average age of the respondents was 42.4 years.
Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming were excluded due to insufficient data.
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