How much is a New Orleans Pelicans playoff game worth?

The New Orleans Pelicans experienced the joys of a playoff series win last year. Now watching from home, how much did missing the postseason cost the franchise?

David Griffin has taken lead of the New Orleans Pelicans one year after the franchise experienced the highs of a playoff series win over the Portland Trail Blazers. His hiring has been seen as a sign that Gayle Benson will no longer run the Pelicans as one of the NBA’s most frugal operations. The Pelicans have a few more weeks until the most important offseason deadlines, so it will be interesting to see how the front office tries to turn things around.

Many that cheered for the tank job process wanted the reward of a higher draft pick. Benson and Griffin know that this year’s team had high expectations they failed to meet. Paired with Anthony Davis trade demands, the goodwill and positive momentum earned from last year’s playoff run has all but dissipated among the fan base.

A poor record and little chance to make the playoffs created a situation for Davis to demand a trade. The leverage lost hurts almost as much as his imminent departure. The depressed mood around the team hurts Griffin’s chances of luring another star or convincing Davis to stay.

Therefore, the first thing missing the playoffs cost the Pelicans was continuity in the established foundation. Davis is gone. The front office is being rebuilt in the same off season the Pelicans have more power than ever. Now, the Pelicans have to deal with Jrue Holiday trade rumors.

This hectic season will bleed over into the Griffin era just by having to deal with the fallout. The new team direction will mean a different team salary figure, and the finances behind a playoff spot are not insignificant.

Forbes estimated the Pelicans to be the least valuable team in 2016. Forbes’ 2019 list showed the Pelicans clipped a valuation of just over one billion dollars. New Orleans is still in the bottom tier, but that is to be expected. Besides, all teams can win. The top spot is held by the Knicks, while several of the bottom half have made deep playoff runs recently.

The New Orleans Pelicans averaged $15 per fan per game in revenue for 2016, which is near the bottom. For 2019, New Orleans made a leap to $61. No doubt the successful season helped push merchandise from Smoothie King Center displays. However, Oklahoma City ($88), Utah ($101), and Cleveland ($93) all averaged a substantial amount more.

The average ticket price is $40, according to that 2019 Forbes article. The Smoothie King Center is now twenty years old, but is still in the middle class of serviceable NBA venues. It’s best used as a playoff venue, as that means a winning team is putting extra revenue into the franchise’s pockets.

New Orleans players would split some percentage of the NBA Playoff’s $20 million players’ pool. The Pelicans ownership took in an extra $1.7 million per game last season, going off rough estimates including tickets, merchandise, and concessions.

For comparison, Golden State tops the per game revenue list at $3.4 million, the Knicks at $2.9 million, and Memphis dragging up the low end with revenue just under a million dollars per game.

Hosting four games last year would have given Benson almost $7 million in extra revenue just from fan attendance. Surely, there would be additional profits once the Pelicans signed NBA Playoff sponsorship deals.

Even if that extra revenue was split between a pocketed profit and a re-investment into the team, $3.5 million would pay a decent rotational salary. If Benson allows Griffin to woo Davis and add talent, next year’s playoff revenue could pay a small luxury tax bill. And that’s if the playoff games gain the same average revenue as a random Tuesday game in January against Memphis.

Imagine what could be made on a bigger stage with Jrue Holiday jerseys available for sale! Well, maybe next year, assuming David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans make the right moves this summer to get back into playoff contention.