The Vikings found a unique way to boost their attendance for their road clash against the Lions on Sunday night which will decide the winner of the NFC North in a battle between the two 14-2 squads.
According to ESPN, the Vikings bought approximately 1,900 tickets near the visitors bench at Ford Field, at about $1,000 per ticket, adding up to nearly $2 million in total.
The ticket total is in addition to the mandated quota of roughly 600 tickets that teams are given for road games.
The team then turned around and offered the tickets to team-based stakeholders for just $200-$300, a massive profit-loss, according to ESPN.
“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 Vikings said in a statement.
Sports Illustrated reported that sources claimed the Lions reached out to the NFL regarding the purchase, but were told the Vikings did not violate any rules.
As well as deciding the NFC north, the Vikings-Lions showdown will decide the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC.
Sunday’s game also will be the first in NFL regular season history to feature two teams with at least 13 wins.
The stakes are extra-high because the winner will receive a first-round bye, with the loser dropping down to the No. 5 seed and a road game during the wild-card round while also being the first wild-card team in history with 14 wins.
The Vikings and the Lions face off on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. Eastern on NBC in a “Sunday Night Football” clash.