AFC Championship: Over 50K tickets for Chiefs vs Bills sold

The exterior of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is shown Friday afternoon, Sept. 17, 2021 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

by: Makenzie Koch

Posted: Jan 20, 2023 / 01:50 PM CST

Updated: Jan 20, 2023 / 01:50 PM CST

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than 50,000 tickets for a potential Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills AFC Championship game in Atlanta sold in just one day.

Both the Bills and the Chiefs decided to give season ticket holders who “previously opted-in to purchase AFC Championship Game tickets in Buffalo or Kansas City priority access to purchase tickets at a preferred rate,” the NFL said in a news release Friday morning.

The season ticket holder sale started Wednesday morning, and those fans have already purchased 50,000 AFC Championship tickets in the first 24 hours.

A presale for non-season ticket holders was supposed to begin Friday morning. Any remaining tickets would go on sale to the general public on Monday if the neutral site game happens.

But a Ticketmaster error has already created problems for Chiefs season ticket holders.

The Chiefs confirmed to FOX4 that the presale code for the season ticket holder sale “had been distributed without consent.”

“The tickets purchased under that code were refunded and released back out to the Season Ticket Member presale. Those tickets still remain available for Season Ticket Members to purchase at Chiefs.com using their exclusive passcode that was emailed to them,” the Chiefs said in a statement Wednesday night.

Now fans can’t get access to Friday’s presale.

The NFL said the Chiefs and Bills will continue to work with season ticket holders to provide priority access.

The league will announce any updated presale or general public sale opportunities — if tickets are still available — at a later date.

There’s only one scenario where the AFC title game would be held in Atlanta. The Chiefs have to beat the Jaguars on Saturday, and the Bills have to get the win over the Bengals on Sunday. Otherwise,

The neutral site option came into play after the Bills and Bengals Week 17 game was canceled when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed.

If the Chiefs and Bills don’t face off in the AFC Championship, scheduled for Jan. 29, any tickets purchased would be automatically refunded to the original payment method.