FSU Football: Contract for future games vs. UF has interesting requirement

FSU football knows the final game of their regular season schedule for the next four seasons, but it’s going to come at an interesting price.

For the last 42 seasons of FSU football, the Seminoles have gone into every single season knowing that the final scheduled game of the regular season was going to be a showdown with a team about 150 miles to the southeast – the rival Florida Gators, a team that has become public enemy No. 1 for the Noles over the years.

In the 1990s and 2000s, it was regularly a battle of teams ranked in the top 10 or even the top five nationally and usually sent the winner on to play for the national title – with the Seminoles and Gators combining to play for six titles (winning three combined) over an eight season span from 1993 to 2000.

Needless to say, it wasn’t much of a shock to fans of both teams when the rivalry was extended for a total of four more seasons late last month – in part because one of the games was already scheduled by FSU football and the Gators to be played on November 30th of this year.

Florida State Seminoles Football

Now, thanks to a public inquiry request from the Tampa Bay Times, we’re seeing what the contract between the schools stipulates for the next handful of seasons. In addition to the road team being paid just $500k for their various trips to either Gainesville or Tallahassee, it came with an interesting note.

"Each visiting team gets 6,000 tickets for sale, including 2,000 in the lower bowl. Tickets for the visitors’ bands must be purchased from that allotment, but mascots and cheerleaders get in free."

Okay, now for some that are fans of the Gators or FSU football, that bold portion might feel like it’s no big deal. But considering how big of a group the Marching Chiefs are – one of the biggest in all of the United States – that means close to 10 percent of the ticket allotment could go to the band both this season and at the end of 2021.

Come on, guys! That’s close to 500 less people cheering on the Seminoles as they look to continue a winning streak in Gainesville that dates back to the 2011 season – the longest winning streak inside The Swamp for the Noles in the history of the rivalry.

I guess the best way for the FSU football fan base to get around this is to buy as many tickets as they possibly can for this one – no matter what the source is or how much – to make sure the War Chant is in full effect for win number five in a row this November.