LAS VEGAS — Orlando Brown Jr., who played alongside Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs at the 2023 Super Bowl, thinks the NFL should be “more realistic” when considering how many tickets to give each player for this year’s big game.
“They’re kind of taking advantage of the players knowing that guys like Christian McCaffrey’s family members are public figures — with his dad [retired NFL pro Ed McCaffrey] being who he is and obviously who he’s with, [Olivia Culpo],” the offensive tackle, 27, told Pvnew exclusively at the Playmakers Party presented by FHM Magazine and Babes in Toyland at Azilo Ultra Lounge in Las Vegas on Thursday.
“It’s unfortunate that they take that approach. I think they should be able to make suites more affordable for people.”
Christian’s mother, Lisa McCaffrey, shockingly revealed last week that her son, who plays for the San Fransisco 49ers, and his influencer fiancée could not afford suites because they carried such hefty price tags.
“We looked into a suite and none of us can afford it,” Lisa said on the “Your Mom” podcast. “Not even Christian, money bags over there — nor money bags Olivia.”
The revelation caused Culpo, 31, to swiftly purchase a suite for her future mother-in-law, but Christian, 27, pushed back on that decision, saying earlier this week he will “not let anybody pay” to watch him play.
Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, recently revealed that she, too, likely won’t be in a suite because “boxes in Vegas are multimillion dollars,” and so she has “a feeling” she’ll be sitting in the stands.
It’s also still up in the air where the Chiefs tight end’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, will watch him play if she makes it to Allegiant Stadium in time from Japan, where she is performing on her Eras Tour.
A source told Pvnew exclusively last week that suites can cost anywhere from $200,000 to $3 million and are always subject to change.
Brown, who now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, explained to Pvnew that while “it varies by team,” most players get two comped tickets and are able to purchase anywhere from 15 to 20 tickets for loved ones.
“I bought a lot of tickets last year,” the NFL star said before recalling how much money he actually spent to get his family members to see him play at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.
“Oh man, [I spent] 60 grand, something around there,” he added. “Yeah, a lot of money.”
However, Brown said he doesn’t feel like he was “cheated” by being asked to pay for tickets — even though he recognized the price point was high.
This year, the pro athlete will be watching Super Bowl LVIII from “home” and rooting for his former teammates.
“I’m supporting them big time,” Brown said of the Chiefs. “I think they’re going to go get them another ring. I just feel like they have the recipe.
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“They have all the right pieces, all the right guys out there — coaches, and this is what they do. They’re going to get it done.”
As for his pal and former teammate’s romance with Swift, 34, the football player thinks it’s “pretty cool” what the Grammy winner has done for the NFL by bringing more fans to it.
“I think it brings a whole other element to the sport and being able to have young women watch it or young girls watch it that are huge fans of Taylor Swift, I mean, it makes the sport even bigger and even cooler,” Brown told Pvnew.
He added of athletes who may be peeved by questions surrounding the pop star, “I haven’t really met anybody I would personally say that was annoyed but, I mean, eff ‘em if so.”
