Detroit Lions fans, concertgoers and more could soon see some cash back if they bought tickets on StubHub during a very limited window last spring.
StubHub has agreed to pay $10 million in refunds to eligible consumers who bought tickets for live events in the United States between May 12, 2025, and May 14, 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
StubHub isn’t refunding the entire cost of the ticket. Instead, it’s automatically refunding certain fees to eligible consumers.
The FTC sued StubHub for allegedly not displaying the total price — including mandatory fees — when consumers bought live-event tickets online during those key dates.
StubHub said it has “long suppported all-in pricing because it provides clarity for fans,” according to a statement sent to the Detroit Free Press.
“This settlement covers a limited number of transactions, spanning just three days in May 2025, where some listings on our site may have displayed ticket prices exclusive of fees,” according to the statement emailed by a StubHub spokesperson.
“While we strongly disagree with the FTC’s view of the case, we are addressing their concerns by refunding a portion of those buyers’ fees,” according to the StubHub spokesperson.
The rules changed, but some didn’t shift fast enough
What’s so special about those dates in May 2025?
First, a year ago, the rules changed. Starting May 12, 2025, online ticket sellers were required to show the actual price upfront that concertgoers, sports fans and others would pay to buy tickets online, including the ticket price and mandatory fees. No more wondering what you’d really end up paying until the very end of the deal at checkout.
Consumer advocates saw some of the old upfront pricing as a way where ticket sellers could pay games and essentially advertise ticket prices that appeared pretty decent until you got slapped with a bunch of fees.
“The Commission’s Fees Rule makes it very clear that the total price of live-event tickets must be disclosed up front to enable consumers to make fully informed purchasing decisions,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in a statement.
“Price transparency is essential to a free and competitive marketplace.”
Second, the requirement for disclosing mandatory fees upfront hit at one of the biggest moments on the ticket-selling calendar.
A time of high demand as the National Football League announced the full 2025-26 season schedule at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on May 14, 2025.
Online ticket sellers were supposed to be playing by the new rules — published by the FTC in January 2025 — during a flurry of online ticket sales for America’s most popular sport in 2025. Not disclosing the fees up front, competitors told me, could give StubHub a price advantage of sorts. You’d initially see a lower price and might opt to buy there.
A SeatGeek spokesperson told me in May 2025 that StubHub seemed to be dragging its feet and did not appear to be fully complaint with the FTC’s all-in-pricing rule initially on May 12 when the rule took effect and a bit later.
And the FTC charged on May 14, 2025, that StubHub, the nation’s largest ticket exchange and resale ticket provider, initially wasn’t playing by the rules.
In a warning letter sent to New York-based StubHub on May 14, 2025, the FTC stated that the StubHub website and mobile display “appeared to have misrepresented the price of tickets in violation of the Fees Rule” then.
The FTC said its staff identified instances in which StubHub displayed ticket prices that did not include all mandatory fees and charges. That was just days after the rule change.
The FTC stated in its letter: “Although the Fees Rule allows initial exclusions from total price for government charges, shipping charges, and fees or charges for optional ancillary goods or services, the mandatory fees and charges StubHub has omitted from its price displays, such as fulfillment fees and service fees, do not appear to be covered by any permissible exemption.”
So, consumers need to understand these rules, too. For example, you still must ask how much it costs to park your car at a given hotel when you’re trying to compare the cost of hotel stays. Such optional fees aren’t disclosed in advance as part of the fees rule.
Under the rules, the FTC notes, anyone selling tickets to live events — or offering short-term lodging —must be upfront about the fees they charge. Those concerned about hidden fees — suspecting that a company’s not playing by the rules — can report issues to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Specifically, the FTC alleged that StubHub failed to provide the total price for tickets — including high-demand National Football League tickets in the lead-up to when the NFL schedule was announced on May 14, 2025 —as part of the information in the first three pricing displays on its website.
In several instances, according to the FTC, the initial two pricing displays posted an advertised price that did not include all mandatory fees, and StubHub did not disclose the total price.
“On the third pricing display, StubHub listed multiple fees and charges but did not disclose the total price,” according to the FTC.
Some of this story is also told in the FTC footnotes at the bottom of the warning letter sent May 14, 2025.
In its footnotes, the letter referenced an article published by Sportico.com on May 13, 2025, which appears to have spotted some pricing issues.
According to the Sportico article a year ago, some NFL ticket listings on StubHub’s app on the afternoon of May 13, 2025, did not appear to be listing “all-in pricing,” despite the fact that the U.S. government requirement kicked in May 12, 2025.
The online article noted that most of StubHub’s non-NFL listings appeared to make the switch alongside the new rules, based on their review. But many of the group’s NFL listings are taking longer to adjust, according to Sportico’s review of the desktop site and mobile app on the afternoon of May 12, 2025.
“After Sportico asked the company about desktop listings for the Sept. 4 game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, which did not show all-in prices, the listings appeared to shift to all-in pricing within a few hours,” according to the article.
The 2025 article included a statement from StubHub general counsel Mark Streams that said StubHub “is complying with the FTC’s new national standard.” The statement called the new rules “one step toward addressing the broken ticketing industry, where a total lack of competition leaves fans with higher prices, fewer choices and zero innovation.”
The FTC had reason to be concerned a year ago, after all plenty of NFL fans would be rushing to online ticket selling platforms at that time.
“Given the high volume of traffic and sales expected across ticketing platforms tonight with the release of the NFL schedule for the 2025 season, we remind you that each failure to comply with the Fees Rule is a separate violation that may be subject to civil penalties,” staff stated in the letter on May 14, 2025.
What to do to get a StubHub refund
Consumers who are eligible for the FTC-related refund won’t need to do anything to get their money.
StubHub is already emailing buyers who are impacted by the settlement and the notice will be sent to the email on the customer’s StubHub account.
According to StubHub, the refund will first be sent via the original payment method. If that is unavailable, though, StubHub plans to then issue the refund via PayPal to the customer’s email address.
If you’re eligible, the FTC notes, the email notice from StubHub will have additional information including a phone number and website.
Within 90 days of the date of the order, the FTC noted, StubHub must provide redress to two groups of eligible consumers who bought tickets for live events in the United States between May 12 and 14, 2025. The order was approved by the judge on April 10.
The amount of the average expected refund was not reported in the FTC complaint.
The first group includes those where the total price of tickets was not disclosed on the initial pricing display.
The second group includes all other consumers who bought tickets for live events in the United States between May 12, 2025, and May 14, 2025.
Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X @tompor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NFL fans, others owed cash after buying tickets on StubHub on key days
Reporting by Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
