When It Comes to Fans Defaulting on Season Ticket Contracts, the Redskins Take No Prisoners

A Washington Post article today provides in-depth coverage of how the Redskins sue fans who default on season ticket contracts. By way of background, season tickets are typically granted in the form of a 6 - 10 year contract, in which the ticket holder agrees that he is she is liable to pay the full amount of the money due over the course of the contract period. According to the Post article, the Redskins enforce these contracts without mercy and sue defaulters for the full amount of money owed, even if the contract holder is defaulting because of financial hardship.

The money at stake is quite high, since Redskins tickets are so expensive. The Redskins won a $66,364 judgement against one fan, forcing her into bankruptcy, and $71,000 against another fan. To make matters even worse, the fans do not get their tickets after paying the judgement but the Redskins resell them, in effect double-dipping.

The obvious question that arises is: if the Redskins do indeed have a wait list of 160,000 fans, as they like to crow, why don't they just cancel the contract and move onto the next person on the wait list?

And how do other NFL teams deal with defaulting contract holders? According to the Post, the Redskins stand out for their harsh tactics. Some examples:

... spokesmen for the following National Football League teams said they do not sue their fans over season ticket contracts: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and Jets, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans...

In terms of the policies of other Washington area teams,

Officials of most Washington area sports franchises that have multiyear contracts said they generally avoid such lawsuits. Nate Ewell, spokesman for the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals, said he could not think of a reason to sue a ticket holder. When a season ticket holder fails to make payments, the team cancels the tickets and resells them.

"Lawsuits are generally a last resort sort of thing," said Peter Biché, president of business operations for Washington Sports and Entertainment, which runs Verizon Center, where the Capitals and the National Basketball Association's Wizards play. "We're not in the lawsuit business. That's not how we run our business."

It is, apparently, how The Danny runs his.