Football season is underway, but a new LendingTree survey suggests a lot of households are rethinking what they spend on it. Just under half of Americans plan to spend money on football this year, down from 65% last season. More than a third of fans say the economy is the main reason they’re pulling back, and the survey tracked everything from game tickets and team merchandise to streaming subscriptions and watch party food.
The tricky part is that cutting back doesn’t always mean staying out of the red. The survey found many fans could still take on hundreds of dollars in football-related debt this season. LendingTree’s Matt Schulz says the game isn’t immune to inflation, and he suggests giving football its own line in your household budget, the same way you’d budget for a vacation or a favorite hobby.
For Suncoast fans, that might mean swapping a road trip for a backyard watch party, splitting the cost of a streaming service, or picking one or two games worth splurging on instead of the whole slate. The season is long. Your budget should survive all of it. So what’s your game day game plan this year?
