Bernie Sanders takes aim at billionaire NBA owners over surging ticket prices

The NBA season arrived Tuesday night with the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons opening the 2026-27 campaign in a matinee matchup. The new-look Philadelphia 76ers, featuring four-time MVP LeBron James, followed by spoiling the New York Knicks’ banner night as the franchise celebrated its long-awaited title from last season.

The San Antonio Spurs, whom the Knicks defeated in the Finals, then fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 2025 champions, to close out the league’s three-game opening-night slate.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, speaks during a campaign event with Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, not pictured, ahead of a primary election at IBEW Local 103 in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, US, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took notice as the NBA season got underway and weighed in Wednesday while the league’s other teams played their opening games.

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"As the NBA season begins this week, remember: 26 out of 30 NBA owners are billionaires — getting richer every day. Meanwhile, the average ticket price to see the Knicks play the Sixers last night cost $1,894. No. You should not have to be rich to take your kids to a ball game," Sanders wrote on X.

The democratic lawmaker did not make mention of player salaries in his criticism.

Sanders has regularly spoken about affordability, and this is not the first time he has addressed ticket prices for major U.S. professional sports leagues. On Aug. 20, Sanders pointed to the tax dollars often used to help fund the construction of new sports venues.

"31 out of 32 NFL owners are billionaires. 26 out of 30 NBA owners are billionaires. 26 out of 30 MLB owners are billionaires. Your tax dollars helped build their stadiums," the senator from Vermont wrote on X at the time. "But today, the average person can't afford the price of a ticket to a sporting event. That must change."

Presidential Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and actor Danny Glover attend Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder on May 30, 2016, at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. (Andrew Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Steve Ballmer is the wealthiest person who currently owns an NBA franchise, according to Forbes’ latest estimates, with an estimated net worth of $166 billion. He is also suspended from attending Los Angeles Clippers games, the team he owns, and participating in all league activities for one year. The suspension followed an NBA investigation that determined Ballmer was "knowingly" involved in "seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities."

The year-long probe looked into whether the Clippers circumvented salary-cap rules to sign Leonard. The Clippers were fined $30 million and ordered to forfeit multiple first-round draft picks.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is being accused of trying to circumvent the NBA's salary cap with a $28 million payment to Kawhi Leonard. (IMAGN)

Clippers’ opening-night ticket prices on Ticketmaster for Wednesday ranged from $51 for standard-admission terrace-level seats to $163 for lower-level center-court club seats on the secondary market. The prices did not include taxes or additional fees.

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Tickets for Wednesday’s Portland Trail Blazers-Phoenix Suns game were listed for as little as $50 on Vivid Seats, a secondary-ticket marketplace. That price also excluded taxes and fees.

Season-ticket prices vary widely from team to team, with the Golden State Warriors becoming the first NBA team to introduce a personal seat license program.

The fee, which several NFL teams use to help offset stadium construction costs, requires fans to pay an upfront fee per seat for the right to purchase season tickets in a specific location.

The location of the seats determines the license fee. Half of the seating options at the $1 billion Chase Center initially were sold with license fees of $15,000 or less, while the other half cost more, according to ESPN.