A year ago, tickets to the national title game were approaching Super Bowl prices. Alabama vs. Georgia in Atlanta was just the perfect storm for the resale market.

It was almost too convenient.

So, with that context, Monday’s Alabama-Clemson IV might as well be played on the moon. And the ticket prices reflect that.

Instead of meeting in Atlanta, the two southeast teams will fly across the country to meet in California’s Bay Area for the 2019 College Football Playoff championship.

Where the cheapest seat to last year’s title game hovered in the $1,700 range, this annual playoff rematch quite lower.

Try $245.

An upper-corner seat in Santa Clara’s Levi Stadium is the lowest found online at StubHub on Tuesday morning. Ticketmaster’s resale page had seats for just over $300, as did ticket resale search engine TicketIQ.

Filling the stadium isn’t a guarantee given the circumstances.

“It will be interesting to see if it’s completely sold through,” said Jesse Lawrence, the founder of TicketIQ. “I think it will be dicey. I think there’s a pretty good chance it doesn’t sell out or there’s empty seats.”

This is the fourth straight postseason featuring an Alabama-Clemson game with the Crimson Tide holding a 2-1 edge.

The first two meetings -- both in national title games -- were classics coming down to the final moments. Last year was a relative blowout with Alabama beating the Tigers 24-6 in the Sugar Bowl semifinal.

Could the Groundhog Day effect be in play?

“I actually think it has less to do with fatigue than it does just distance,” Lawrence said. “Last year, you could make just as much of a case there was just as much fatigue for Alabama fans but it was the most expensive national championship that we tracked. Obviously, it was in Georgia’s back yard but if you look at the year before that, it was a $1,700 get-in. I think it’s as simple as distance. I think people are happy to pay for the ticket if it’s close and even pay up but I think the combination of travel, hotel and all of that.”

The travel component didn’t help matters.

Flights between Alabama and Bay Area airports were running in the $1,000 range with multiple stops. A few airlines added direct flights between Birmingham and San Jose but they were still at least $1,000 round trip.

Lawrence said the best comparison is the original Alabama-Clemson game. The two met in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale in January 2016 when the cheapest ticket ended up being $202. Lawrence thinks this year’s low price will dip below that.

The 2016 game site had a capacity comparable to Levi Stadium’s 68,500 while offering shelter from the elements. This year’s game is outdoors and temperatures have dipped into the upper 30s this week in Santa Clara.

“And it’s Monday night,” Lawrence said. “That’s not exactly convenient. It just adds up to being too much for fans who have already been there in the past 10 years.”

Prices for this year’s semifinals were about average at TicketIQ. Notre Dame pushed demand for the Cotton Bowl where the cheapest ticket was $131 with an average of $468. Alabama-Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl had a low price of $75 to get in and a $291 average.

Get in price national title game

Year Teams Get-in $ 2019 Alabama-Clemson $309 2018 Alabama-Georgia $1,752 2017 Alabama-Clemson $1,737 2016 Alabama-Clemson $202 2015 Ohio St.-Oregon $317 2014 FSU-Auburn $251 2013 Alabama-Notre Dame $849 2012 Alabama-LSU $1,125 2011 Auburn-Oregon $1,750

*Source: TicketIQ