The cheapest way into a World Cup group-stage match on the resale market fell to roughly $134 in May, down from $184 in February, according to Ticket Club data. [1] That is the live floor the paper went looking for on June 15, when it argued that ticket-price outrage needs a live receipt before anyone declares fans priced out. Here it is.

The slide is broad. Group-stage median resale listings dropped 28 percent between February and May, from $1,291 to $928, and the U.S. opener against Paraguay fell from above $3,200 to $2,055. [1] Sub-$200 seats were available in May for matches such as Jordan-Algeria in Santa Clara and Bosnia-Herzegovina-Qatar in Seattle. [1] More than 170,000 tickets were still listed on the resale marketplace the day before kickoff. [2]

The headlines tell the opposite story. FIFA listed premium final seats at $32,970, and a single seat briefly hit $11.5 million on FIFA's own exchange; Infantino joked he would "personally deliver a hot dog to anyone who paid $2 million" for a final ticket. [1] On X, that became proof of the priciest World Cup ever. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reads the same data as vindication — "dynamic pricing functioning exactly as intended." [1]

Both miss the only number a real fan needs: the floor by match, today. It is under $200 for plenty of group games. Outrage and triumphalism are both priced in. The seat is cheaper than either.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos