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The Lions haven’t won a playoff game for 25 years and counting. They’ve nevertheless increased ticket prices for four years and counting.

Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have sent invoices reflecting an average increase of 2.8 percent for season tickets. Last year, the average price hike was 7.8 percent.

Lions president Rod Wood previously justified increased costs by pointing out that the Lions were still only at No. 24 in the league for average ticket price.

“I would like to get to the point where we’re at least average, because unless we’re average we’re going to be struggling to compete nationally with other teams that have more resources from investing in things that help the football team,” Wood said in 2016, via Birkett.

Regardless of justification, setting the right price point remains one of the biggest challenges for any NFL team. Charge too much and seats will be empty. Charge too little and money is being left on the table.

Complicating the decision on how much to charge is the connection between team and city. Waiting lists in places like Pittsburgh and Green Bay could be quickly reduced to zero if the prices restricted access to the fans with the means to pay. But that would undermine the relationship with the fan base, and it would set the stage for rancor if/when the team struggles. Throw in the reality that most stadiums were built with taxpayer money, and the notion that making it impossible for the average taxpayer to attend games becomes unseemly.

Regardless, ticket sales continue to be one of the major revenue streams for NFL teams, and it always will be easy to justify increasing the cost to attend a game in person.