New England Patriots Support NFL's Chosen Ticket Reseller

The New England Patriots, unbeaten at 12-0, may be guilty of running up the score on opponents this season at the behest of smug head coach Bill Belicheck. But they are will to abide by the National Football League's decision to hire an official ticket reseller, reports the Boston Globe.

The Patriots are enmeshed in a legal dispute with StubHub "over the legality of selling team tickets above face value."

The NFL is planning to name an official ticket reseller for all 32 teams in the next two weeks. Six companies are seeking the contract, including StubHub Inc., the eBay-owned company that is locked in a court battle with the Patriots over the legality of selling team tickets above face value.

Photo of Patriots coach Bill Belichick by Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

While the ticket reselling business has become as American as apple pie and stampeding shoppers rampaging through Best Buy on Black Friday, the Patriots are figthing the trend by insisting their tickets are licenses that can be revoked if customers try to resell them.

League spokesman Greg Aiello told the newspaper that the proposed league resolution gives each of the NFL's 32 teams the ability to ensure that its own club policies relating to tickets are implemented as part of any league secondary ticket deal. The Patriots have been consistent in their position on their own tickets, but don't want to dictate policies to other clubs.

Photo of Gillette Stadium by Al Bello/Getty Images

StubHub Public Relations Director Sean Pate said the team is "fighting the forces of nature" in their stance against reselling tickets above face value. Along with StubHub, the bidders for the NFL deal are Ticketmaster, TicketsNow, Viagogo, FlashSeats and Seat Exchange.

Industry officials have said that the company that wins the NFL contract "could pay up to $20 million a year to the league or give the league an equity stake in its business." TicketNetwork.com CEO Don Vaccaro said "event producers and sports league want to share" in the revenue from secondary ticket sales.