'It doesn't feel discretionary': Sports fandom is a nearly $2,000-a-year habit for Americans — and for almost half, it means going into debt

However, that spending proportion grows when younger sports fans are taken into account. For fans between the ages of 25 to 34, the share going into sports-related debt increases to 62%. About 20% of Americans surveyed said they’d be willing to accumulate debt to support their favorite teams.

This summer, the 2026 World Cup provided American sports fans with an opportunity to indulge in the beautiful game. In many instances though, that required shelling out four or even five-figure sums to attend one of the 104 matches played over 39 days.

World Cup ticket prices devoured a big piece of fans’ recreational spending, not just travel or merchandise. In fact, the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey set a record as the most expensive sporting event ever, with average ticket prices at $12,751 on resale sites.

Cathleen Bell, vice president of research and insights at National Debt Relief, told CNBC that forking over extravagant sums for some sports fans “feels essential” and due to the emotions stirred among fans from a sporting event, spending on their favorite teams “doesn’t feel discretionary.”

The ‘funflation’ of following your favorite team

According to the National Debt Relief survey, sports fans spend an annual average of $1,970. For men, that amount grows to $2,224. Just over half, or 55%, of sports spenders, said the money will go into supporting NFL and college football teams.

Rising sports spending likely won’t come as a surprise, especially for the fans electing to pour a growing share of their budget into sports tickets, whether it’s a regular match or a championship.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the cost of admission into sporting events as another variable in the Consumer Price Index, which measures overall inflation. From 2000 to 2025, these admission prices increased by 123%, according to a BLS blog post in February. These increases outpaced the price of admission for movies and concerts.

Economists labeled the price increases of attending a live event as “funflation.”