When will it end? While Tennessee football fans understand the rising costs surrounding college athletics, ticket prices have continued to go up and people are getting priced out of being able to attend home games the way they've done for decades.
Shortly after Tennessee's historic deal with Adidas was announced, some more news has come in from Athletic Director Danny White, but it's not being received with the same kind of joy. On Monday, White announced that season tickets are going up by four percent for next football season, while the 10 percent 'talent fee' isn't going anywhere either. As you might have been able to guess, countless people are not happy about this:
You get the biggest apparel deal in college athletics and you send out this email.
— Leland (@TennLeland) August 18, 2025
You can’t make this up. Danny Dimes strikes again. pic.twitter.com/C2Le1nx2C1
Tennessee football season tickets will go up 4 percent starting in 2026
According to reporter Ross Dellenger, the 10-year deal Tennessee signed with Adidas is expected to bring the Vols $10 million annually - yup, it's in the $100 million total range. Despite that, White and the Vols still feel the need to jack up the prices a bit for season tickets after this campaign?
It doesn't make a ton of sense. Yes, four percent isn't a monumental hike, but why in the world do the prices keep going up like this? Earlier this year, White was under fire after a longtime Vols hoops fan revealed that an absurd price hike was coming for his home basketball tickets.
He let everyone know that he's been going to home games to support the team since 1967, but his tickets going up nearly 300 percent is something he not only never saw coming, but it's something he can't afford due to his current financial state.
With Josh Heupel and Co. going after 5-star targets and having to be competitive in the NIL era, we understand the need for more funds. However, should season-ticket holders be the ones who have to keep suffering? White tried downplaying this change by calling it a 'moderate' increase, but that's not fooling anyone. Exciting times are coming for the program, but this is yet another setback in terms of getting people fired up for the future.