Mitchell: NFL Knew Players Sold Their Super Bowl Tickets

Jan 29, 2020, 12:53 PM

Signage is displayed near the FOX Sports South Beach studio compound prior to Super Bowl LIV on Jan...

Signage is displayed near the FOX Sports South Beach studio compound prior to Super Bowl LIV on January 25, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. The San Francisco 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the 54th playing of the Super Bowl, Sunday February 2nd. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

(Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Playing in a Super Bowl is the dream of every NFL player but not everyone can make it to the big game, and that includes KSL Sports’ Scott Mitchell who spent 12 years in the league as a quarterback.

Mitchell could have gone to the Super Bowl each year as players were given a pair of tickets to the game but instead of going to the big game he, along with other players, sold their Super Bowl ticket allotment in one of the worst kept secrets of the NFL.

“I never went once in 12 years,” Mitchell said. “I sold my tickets every year and it was one of those things that they knew that it happened and they never did anything. I know the Dolphins owners sold their tickets. 1990 was my first year in the NFL and I never sold my tickets for less than $1,000 a pair.”

Part of the reason Mitchell and other players sold their tickets was for the extra money but going, in attendance, to the Super Bowl just seemed odd.

“Motivation for what? ‘I want to sit here and watch this when I can be here?'” Mitchell questioned to himself.

“The only thing that mattered to me when I played was winning the Super Bowl,” Mitchell added. “That is all I cared about.”

Players can be stubborn like that because it can make sense that a current player would not want to be in attendance of the Super Bowl as it reflects poorly on their past season by not being on the field competing for a championship.

I Should Have Never Missed A Super Bowl

Mitchell has some regrets about not going to the Super Bowl as a spectator. There are so many players who go now and hang out at radio row, go to parties or promote something in dozens upon dozens of interviews.

“When I got older and retired I went to a Super Bowl. Immediately, the first day I was there I was like, ‘I should have gone to all of these Super Bowls’ I should have never missed a Super Bowl,” Mitchell said. “It is not the actual game.”

There are celebrities as far as the eye can see and it’s a great way to make connections and meet people you never thought you could meet.

“It is all of the stuff leading up to the game. Everybody is there and it is an opportunity to develop relationships and networking,” Mitchell said. “It is beyond imaginable the opportunities that are before you at a Super Bowl. It is insane with the media, it is insane who is there and the whole pageantry is incredible.”

Mitchell felt he should have taken part of every little bit of the activities surrounding the Super Bowl – that is a part he regrets.

Hate Watching The Super Bowl

Mitchell would not be at the Super Bowl in person but he would still make an attempt to turn on the game and watch at home with friends and have a party. However, just because he was watching the game does not mean he was not happy with who was on the field.

“It would be hard to watch when you played. I would usually have a party and have some fun, but there were certain years like the 49ers in 1994 that was a hard Super Bowl that was tough to watch,” Mitchell said.

“They credited a game they played in Detroit where they were down by 14 points at halftime and won, which turned the season around. I hear this and think I should get part of the Super Bowl, but I hated that.”

Watching the Super Bowl is something everyone does but it is such a different animal when watching as a current NFL player.

Tune into KSL’s Unrivaled every Monday through Friday, 7-9 p.m., or download the KSL NewsRadio app to subscribe to the podcast. 

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Mitchell: NFL Knew Players Sold Their Super Bowl Tickets