section_path: Background/Boycott
section_name: Boycott
paragraph_text: Boycott
  
  Calls were made for a boycott of the game, making claims of officiating misconduct in the Chiefs' favor during the 2024 season, particularly the AFC Championship Game. Prices for tickets to the game on the secondary market collapsed following the AFC Championship Game, falling roughly 30% compared to resale tickets for Super Bowl LVIII; Brett Goldberg, co-owner of TickPick, suggested New Orleans's relatively low hotel capacity was a factor in the sharp decline, but that Chiefs fatigue was also a factor: "I think if the Bills won, you would've seen a very different dynamic here." In Buffalo, Bills Mafia co-founder Del Reid lent his support to "not- watch parties " to give disgruntled Bills fans an opportunity to socialize out of the house without being subjected to the game.
  
  Both commissioner Roger Goodell and Referees Association executive director Scott Green have denied accusations of wrongdoing, with Goodell suggesting that the notion of games being rigged or fixed in the Chiefs' favor is "a ridiculous theory" not to be taken seriously. The boycott, despite not having a visible impact on overall national viewership, resulted in a marked decline in viewership in Buffalo, where the 237,000 viewers for the game was the lowest since people meters were introduced and a 25% drop from the 315,000 who watched the previous year's Super Bowl.
  
  Calls were made for a boycott of the game, making claims of officiating misconduct in the Chiefs' favor during the 2024 season, particularly the AFC Championship Game. Prices for tickets to the game on the secondary market collapsed following the AFC Championship Game, falling roughly 30% compared to resale tickets for Super Bowl LVIII; Brett Goldberg, co-owner of TickPick, suggested New Orleans's relatively low hotel capacity was a factor in the sharp decline, but that Chiefs fatigue was also a factor: "I think if the Bills won, you would've seen a very different dynamic here." In Buffalo, Bills Mafia co-founder Del Reid lent his support to "not- watch parties " to give disgruntled Bills fans an opportunity to socialize out of the house without being subjected to the game.
  
  Both commissioner Roger Goodell and Referees Association executive director Scott Green have denied accusations of wrongdoing, with Goodell suggesting that the notion of games being rigged or fixed in the Chiefs' favor is "a ridiculous theory" not to be taken seriously. The boycott, despite not having a visible impact on overall national viewership, resulted in a marked decline in viewership in Buffalo, where the 237,000 viewers for the game was the lowest since people meters were introduced and a 25% drop from the 315,000 who watched the previous year's Super Bowl.