When the New York Jets drafted Sam Darnold with the third pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the moment felt bigger than simply choosing a quarterback. For longtime Jets fans, especially season ticket holders who had watched the atmosphere at home games change dramatically after the move to MetLife Stadium, Darnold represented something much larger. He was hope, a reason to believe again, and perhaps a way to bring real Jets fans back into a stadium that too often felt like it belonged to the visiting team.
Empty Seats at MetLife Stadium. Photo by Sonny Esposito
As a longtime New York Jets season ticket holder, I was very excited over the New York Jets drafting of USC quarterback Sam Darnold. Most New York Jets fans were excited because many scouts, writers, and fans believed Sam Darnold was, hands down, the best quarterback available in the 2018 NFL Draft. Of course, there were those who believed Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, and Josh Allen were better prospects. However, the overall consensus among anyone with an interest in the NFL was that Sam Darnold was the man.
Incredibly, at number three, the New York Jets had the chance to draft Darnold, and they did not let him get away. If nothing else, it would have been a nightmare for New York Jets management had they passed on Sam Darnold when they had the chance to draft him. In essence, they really had no choice once they saw he was still available at number three. Even if the New York Jets had Josh Rosen graded higher than Sam Darnold, there was no way they could have passed on Sam Darnold. Here’s the real reason why.
The Jets Fan Base Changed After The Move To MetLife Stadium
As a longtime New York Jets season-ticket holder who goes all the way back to the house that Robert Moses built, Shea Stadium, I have seen a dramatic shift in the fan base attending New York Jets home games. Since the New York Jets and New York Giants moved into their new stadium, both teams have seen their home-game fan bases shrink dramatically. There are multiple reasons for this unforeseen change among the executives and owners who run both teams.
The New York Giants were always known as having the impossible football ticket in town at the old Meadowlands, which was called Giants Stadium. There was a long waiting list, supposedly filled with millions of names, of people waiting for the opportunity to buy New York Giants season tickets. I know many people who were on that list and never got a call. The New York Jets may not have had the same reputation for being such a tough ticket, but they also had a waiting list for season tickets, and most people on that list never got a call.
New York NFL season football tickets were family-owned treasures, heirlooms handed down from generation to generation and rarely ever let go. They were like gold. That all changed in 2008 when both teams decided to build a new stadium together and begin the hated PSL program.
How PSLs Changed The Stadium
We won’t get into the entire PSL story, all the details behind its implementation, or what it did to fans. In short, the PSL changed the majority of the fan base that attends games for both teams, especially the New York Jets. Most fans who sat at the old stadium, between the goal lines in the lower deck and the mezzanine, were priced out of keeping their tickets. Longtime New York Jets fans who were hardcore and attended every game were forced to give up their season tickets because they could not afford PSLs ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 per seat.
The cost of the seats also went sky-high, jumping from an average of 95 dollars per seat between the 20-yard lines to 400 to 700 dollars per seat. Those were, and still are, the regular season ticket prices after you had already paid, or were asked to pay, between ten thousand and twenty thousand dollars per seat.
Most New York Jets fans with end zone or upper deck seats kept their tickets. The end zone seats given up by season ticket holders were sold to those ticket holders who sat between the goal lines and wanted to continue attending games but could not afford the cost of sitting along the sidelines on the lower and mezzanine decks. Sounds incredible, but it happened. It’s not just the Jets and Giants. It happened in many stadiums around the NFL. Can anyone say Dallas?
The Empty Seats And Visiting Fans Problem
For the past seven seasons, I have sat in the end zone at MetLife Stadium for every New York Jets home game. Over the past five years, I have witnessed the home base of New York Jets fans become smaller with each game. From our seats in the corner of the end zone, we have a clear view of the crowds along the sidelines. In the old stadium, those crowds were filled with green jerseys. For the past couple of years, those crowds have been filled with the colors of the visiting team.
It’s tough and embarrassing to sit in a stadium and hear the crowd roar louder for the visiting team than the home team. However, depending on the visiting team, that has been the case at New York Jets home games over the past four to five seasons. Most of the old Jets fan base is gone. It has been replaced by corporate crowds and fans of opposing teams buying those tickets. Many of the people, corporations, and businesses that own the sideline seats stay inside the clubhouses during the first half of the games. It’s amazing how many empty seats there are inside the 40-yard lines during the first half of New York Jets games.
Things have gotten worse during the past two seasons. Even in the end zone where most New York Jets fans have relocated, we have been seeing more and more opposing-team jerseys. Fights break out constantly between fans. The cursing and screaming have made it a very unpleasant experience. Fans in the end zones have been giving up their tickets. New York Jets fans have been fed up with the team’s performance, which has led season-ticket holders to sell their tickets, resulting in the horrible experiences we now all share in the stands.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers came to town, I felt like I was at a home Steelers game. The same could be said for visits by the Green Bay Packers and especially the San Francisco 49ers a few years ago. MetLife Stadium was flooded with San Francisco 49ers jerseys for that one. It seems only when the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins come to town does it still feel like a home game.
New Jersey State Troopers breaking up a fight in the stands. Photo by Sonny Esposito
State Troopers chasing a bad fan at MetLife Stadium. Photo by Sonny Esposito
The Mark Sanchez Memory
When the New York Jets drafted Mark Sanchez in 2009, New York Jets fans went crazy. For many of us, we were hoping Sanchez would be the second coming of Joe Namath. We are always hoping for Joe Namath’s return in some form.
I was at MetLife Stadium when Mark Sanchez played his first game as a New York Jet. It was a preseason game. Mark Sanchez had not started the game. When Rex Ryan put Mark Sanchez in the game, the crowd went nuts. He had not even started the play, and the crowd was cheering like crazy. On his very first play as a New York Jet that evening, Mark Sanchez threw a 20-to-30-yard completed sideline pass. The stadium went bonkers. It was like the New York Jets had won the Super Bowl.
The savior had arrived. It was not just a completed sideline pass in the preseason. It was the glorious New York Jets future unfolding before our eyes. It was a euphoric feeling that had not been felt in years. The crowd that witnessed that moment were real New York Jets fans. In that moment, it was great to be a New York Jets fan. The crowd was going crazy. It was rowdy, but it was New York Jets fans going crazy and being rowdy together. It was the final season at the old Meadowlands Stadium. Jets fans hate calling it Giants Stadium.
Mark Sanchez 2010. Photo by Sonny Esposito
Hope Was Fading Fast
Mark Sanchez had two very successful years with the New York Jets, bringing them to two straight AFC Championship games. However, many of us do remember that the New York Jets won so many games in the final seconds during those two years. In many cases, everything just seemed to go right. Since the New York Jets lost that second AFC Championship game, it’s been pretty much downhill ever since. Faith has been lost, and with that fading promise, many loyal fans have given up hope, along with their season tickets.
Ten years ago, it would have been unimaginable that the New York Jets would be advertising on television and radio that great New York Jets season tickets were available. What’s even more unimaginable is that, for the upcoming season, the New York Jets actually lowered my season-ticket prices. Would it be too much to ask for a PSL refund, too? The New York Jets can’t sell tickets anymore, and they are struggling to hold on to the season-ticket holders they do have. If it weren’t for the PSL investments that many fans, myself included, foolishly bought, the season-ticket holder fan base would have deteriorated even more.
Why The Jets Had To Draft Sam Darnold
Well, maybe we haven’t come out and said it directly, but it’s pretty obvious that the New York Jets are in desperate straits to sell tickets and hold on to their season-ticket holders. To be fair, the New York Jets, aside from using PSLs, treat their season-ticket holders well. The Jets try to entertain the fans at the stadium with their cheerleaders and pre-game activities. They offer the option to accumulate points on season-ticket holder accounts, redeemable for merchandise and enhanced game-day experiences like holding the flag before the game. They offer a number to report fan issues, and they generally seem to care about their fans.
Nonetheless, the team’s play on the field, and in many cases off the field, accompanied by game experiences in which we feel like we are attending a road game, has fueled an exodus of season ticket holders that the New York Jets have been attempting to halt.
New York Jets Cheerleaders are entertaining the fans between quarters. Photo by Sonny Esposito
Will Sam Darnold prevent more season ticket holders from selling off their tickets? Will Sam Darnold help sell more tickets to actual Jets fans? If the man wins games, the fans will come back. Real Jets fans will come back. If Sam Darnold leads the Jets to the playoffs, New York Jets season-ticket holders will start reclaiming their stadium. If Sam Darnold wins a Super Bowl, that old season ticket waiting list will 100 percent be resurrected. Sadly, if all that happens, ticket prices will probably go through the roof, and all of us in the end zones and upper deck won’t be able to afford them anymore.
More New York Sports And History Stories
If you enjoy New York sports and city history stories, take a look at our features on Grand Central Terminal, Robert Moses, the Flatiron Building, and the Second Avenue Subway.
Article updated June 27, 2026.
