The New York Giants on Tuesday made an odd announcement about their 2015 ticket prices, saying they'd "reduced the price of our preseason ticket by roughly 50 percent of the cost of a regular season ticket" but raised some regular-season prices and "the net result in the changes in pricing is that the total cost of almost all season ticket packages has been reduced from last season." This announcement came in conjunction with a mailing that went out to season-ticket holders telling them what their new price would be for 2015. It is the first time they've adjusted ticket prices since MetLife Stadium's inaugural season of 2010.
From what I've been able to gather, the net change isn't significant. A small straw poll on Twitter indicated an average total savings of about $15 per ticket package, with most of my respondents reporting decreases that ranged from $2 total to $75 total.
It makes sense to cut the price of preseason tickets, since those games are unwatchable and those who might want to sell their preseason tickets should now theoretically have an easier time doing so. But overall, it doesn't sound as though this announcement will affect Giants fans all that much.
As for team-related goings-on ...
The Giants restructured the contract of guard Geoff Schwartz, converting $1.5 million of his $3.675 million 2015 salary into per-game incentive bonuses. Basically, if he plays all 16 games, he gets all of the money he was originally supposed to get, and part of his 2016 salary becomes guaranteed as well. The move saves the Giants about $2.1 million in cap space, and it will be interesting to see whether it was just a procedural move designed to guard them against more Schwartz injuries or whether they have bigger plans for that money. Given what's left at this point in free agency, they didn't need to do this in order to sign anyone new. But if they have their eye on an expensive trade target or are working on a contract extension for Eli Manning, this is the kind of thing that might help free up some cash.
The Giants are hosting free-agent defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis for a visit. He's a decent player and huge dude who'd be a first- and second-down run-stopper. But he'd likely come off the field in passing situations when Steve Spagnuolo likes to load up on pass-rushers on the interior of the line. I think the Jets are still trying to bring back Ellis, but he might be tempted by the idea of playing defensive tackle in a 4-3 as opposed to end in a 3-4.