SoFla Guide Editors
The Miami Dolphins have not won a game yet this season, but they have figured out how to raise ticket prices. The team is bumping season-ticket prices 3 percent across the board for 2027, a team spokesperson told The Palm Beach Post, and some of the best seats will climb even more. Fans, to put it gently, are not taking it well.
What happened
According to The Palm Beach Post, as reported via Yahoo Sports, the Dolphins are raising season-ticket prices 3 percent across the board for the 2027 season. The Miami Herald reported that most standard seats will go up 3%, while premium club areas and the popular shaded seats on the home sideline will see larger increases. Anyone who has baked in the sun at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens knows exactly why that shade costs extra.
The timing is rough. The Dolphins are 0-5 in the 2026 NFL season and sit fourth in the AFC East under head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, according to Yahoo Sports and footballdb.com.
The Palm Beach Post noted that the team kept ticket prices flat in 2026 and even reduced the cost of some seats before announcing the 2027 increase.
Renewal notices went out to season-ticket holders during the week of October 21, 2026, the Miami Herald reported. The team’s official renewal notice, as quoted by the Herald, states: “Membership is secured for 2027 and reflects an additional regular season home game.”
That extra game is part of the math. The Palm Beach Post reported that in 2027, season-ticket members will pay for nine regular-season home games and one preseason home game, compared with eight regular-season games and two preseason games in 2026.
Fans are fuming
Social media did what social media does. Brittney Lurie, a Dolphins podcaster and content creator behind “Sideline Tea,” posted on X about “the absolute AUDACITY the Miami Dolphins have by sending out a STH (season ticket holder) renewal email WITH RAISED MEMBERSHIP RATES!!” The Palm Beach Post reported her post.
One season-ticket holder, who was not identified, put it more bluntly to the Miami Herald: “How can you raise prices on a [poor] product? We haven’t made a serious playoff run since the mid-90s.”
Then there is Dan Muchnick, who has held season tickets since the franchise’s inaugural 1966 season. The Miami Herald reported that his home-sideline seats in Section 144 went from $3,430 in 2026 to $3,795 for 2027. That is loyalty measured in decades, and now in a bigger bill.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel also reported on the renewal notices and the price increase, under the byline of David Furones.
What it means for South Florida
The price hike lands while the crowds are already thinning. The Miami Herald reported that the Dolphins are averaging 58,719 fans through two home games in 2026, against Kansas City and Cincinnati. That ranks 31st in the NFL, ahead of only Jacksonville.
According to the Herald, if you set aside the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Dolphins have not averaged this few fans since 2012, when they drew 57,379 per game.
So the team is asking more from its most committed customers at a moment when fewer people are showing up. Whether that bet pays off may depend on what happens on the field over the rest of this season, and on how many season-ticket holders decide to keep their seats.
What’s next
If you hold Dolphins season tickets, mark your calendar. The first automatic payment for 2027 memberships is scheduled for November 17, 2026, according to the Miami Herald and the team’s official ticketing site. The renewal notice, as quoted by the Herald, says the “first payment will be automatically processed on November 17.” Members may opt out before that date.
For fans weighing whether to stick around, the 2027 home slate does have some draw. The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported that the Dolphins’ 2027 home schedule includes AFC East rivals Buffalo, the New York Jets and New England, along with Houston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Washington. Eagles and Bills fans have a long tradition of showing up in Miami Gardens, so expect some visiting jerseys in the stands.
Until then, the Dolphins still have most of the 2026 season left to play. A win or two would not erase a price hike, but it might make that November 17 charge a little easier to swallow.
