Chelsea’s controversial commercial operations are under the spotlight again as fans raise concerns about ticket prices.
The Premier League has reportedly contacted Chelsea FC about Todd Boehly’s ownership of Vivid Seats, an American online ticket marketplace. Boehly is co-controlling owner and chairman of the premier league club.
Vivid Seats first appeared on Chelsea supporters’ radar when the club announced the marketplace as an official USA pre-season tour partner in 2023, ahead of its first US preseason tour.
At the time, Geoff Lester, Chief Commercial Officer at Vivid Seats, described the partnership as a chance to expand the company’s brand awareness as “soccer fandom” continues to rise across America.
Despite Chelsea choosing not to renew the partnership, Vivid Seats has continued to sell match tickets for the Premier League club online. This activity caught the attention of supporters last season, with some tickets listed for as much as $27,222 (£20,000).
Notably, the website isn’t allowed to operate in the UK, and the Premier League has labelled Vivid Seats as an “unauthorised ticket seller”.
During a Football Supporters’ Association event last week, the Premier League’s CEO Richard Masters, explained the league has contacted Chelsea about the issues.
Supporters lead the charge
While the prices aren’t easy to ignore, the main issue the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) raised was Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats. The American businessman, who owns a 13% stake in Chelsea is also a director and investor in ticket seller.
In an open letter to the Masters, the CST wrote: “As a director of Chelsea FC and part-owner, Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is totally inappropriate and significantly undermines the efforts of Chelsea FC, the Premier League, and the Metropolitan Police to combat ticket touting.
“Mr Boehly has been contacted directly by the CST and has been offered multiple opportunities to both publicly and privately address supporters’ concerns.
“Neither Mr Boehly nor his representatives have, however, acted on these requests, and thousands of tickets remain for sale on the Vivid Seats website.”
The CST also submitted evidence against the ticket marketplace to the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Before the CST letter was sent to the club, Chelsea sent an email to supporters in March 2025 about its stance on ticket touting. The London side stated over 1,000 people were stopped from entering Stamford Bridge, 1,500 membership accounts were cancelled and four arrests were made last season.
This action follows in the footsteps of other English clubs, which are eager to stop resellers. However, many supporters feel clubs themselves are most guilty of ticket touting, especially given the introduction of stricter rules for season ticket holders over recent seasons.
Aston Villa was the latest to face criticism after releasing a new ticket usage policy in May ahead of the 2025/26 season. To be eligible for renewal, season ticket holders will need to attend at least 14 of the 19 home league matches.
Games which fans are unable to attend are sent back to the club allowing them to resell them for a much higher price.
On an episode of The Overlap, football finance expert Kieran Maguire addressed the issue directly. When asked whether it is fair to say the clubs have become the biggest touts, he responded:
“It is, but from the clubs’ point of view, the mark-ups are so great that you get 1/19th of your season ticket back… then you repackage it as an experience, as a product on the day… you can sell that for £600.”
