SI: Tice investigated for Ticket Scalping

**dirk digler** · 03-09-2005, 11:53 AM

This guy is deserves his meat head nickname. What an idiot.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ice/index.html

Hot tickets
Vikings' Tice target of Super Bowl scalping probe
Posted: Tuesday March 8, 2005 9:07PM; Updated: Tuesday March 8, 2005 10:48PM

Mike Tice
Mike Tice acknowledged to SI.com that he met with league security officials Wednesday at the team complex.
Rick Stewart/Getty Images

By Don Banks and George Dohrmann, SI.com

Minnesota head coach Mike Tice is being investigated by the NFL for allegedly heading up and profiting from a Super Bowl ticket-scalping operation within the Vikings organization, a violation of NFL rules that league sources say has been going on for years.

Two investigators from the league's security staff, Larry Sweeney and John Keenan, were in the Twin Cities on Tuesday, questioning Tice in his office and speaking with Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton, as well as other club personnel. The pair left the team complex in the afternoon to meet with the team's director of ticket sales, Phil Huebner, at the Metrodome, where Minnesota's ticket operations are headquartered.

The league requires all players, coaches, and club personnel who buy Super Bowl tickets to sign a release stating they will not re-sell them at a profit. Still, the practice of scalping Super Bowl tickets is widespread within the league and is an open secret in many NFL locker rooms. Yet the practice in Minnesota is unique, league sources say, because it has been orchestrated by the head coach. And, according to people familiar with the scalping operation, Tice began facilitating the reselling of Super Bowl tickets long before becoming the Vikings' head coach in January 2002. Tice coached Minnesota's tight ends and then offensive line beginning in 1996.

"This started when [Tice] wasn't the figure he is now," said one team source. "I can't believe how rampant it's been. Stuff like this has gone on a long time. There's a pretty good amount of people involved. There could be a lot of people affected by this, not just in the NFL's view, but with the IRS as well."

Tice acknowledged to SI.com that he met with league security officials Tuesday at the team complex, but said he told them he had nothing to do with the re-selling of players' tickets.

"They were in there here talking to me and others about how we deal with our Super Bowl tickets, and how they're distributed,'' Tice said. "I'm confident when the league finishes looking at this, everything will come out fine. It's a shame assumptions are being made about my role in this. I did not approach any player about Super Bowl tickets as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.''

However, in mid-January, after the Vikings were eliminated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoffs, a team source said Tice organized the re-selling of Super Bowl tickets for players and club employees. (Each NFL player has the right to buy two Super Bowl tickets at face value, which this year was $500 and $600 depending on the location of the seat). Those who gave their tickets to Tice received $1,900, a mark-up of at least $1,300 per ticket, sources said. Last season, individuals brokering tickets through Tice received $1,100 per ticket, a former Vikings player said.

"Tice has been turning around tickets for years and years," said one player who was with the Vikings in 2003. "He's been selling them to the same guy. He commits to a certain amount every year."

Late in the 2003 season, Tice berated one Vikings veteran for asking teammates if he could buy their tickets, which he had hoped to procure for family members. Tice, one source said, accused the player of trying to "backdoor the head coach." Tice then successfully pressured some players to renege on their commitment and sell their tickets through him, the player said, even though Tice was offering slightly less money per ticket.

"It was always understood that if you want it, here it is," one Vikings team source said of the opportunity to scalp Super Bowl tickets. "There was nothing different this year about how it worked."

Sources around the league, including several coaches, said it is common practice within the NFL for players and assistants to scalp their Super Bowl tickets. On some teams, the income from the re-sale of those tickets is counted on by assistant coaches to supplement their salaries.

"A lot of teams do it," said an NFL assistant who once worked for the Vikings. "Everybody can do it. Every team has a guy who takes care of moving the tickets. I'd hate to see it end because coaches have always used that as extra money. Coaches do count on that as a little extra deal. [Team] owners will probably stop doing it now, because they don't have to give us those tickets.

"When I was there [in Minnesota], Mike was the guy. He had a guy somewhere who moved the tickets. I just never took him up on it because I was always scared I'd get my ass caught."

Said another coach: "Mike's the wheeler dealer. But it's just stupidity doing it as a head coach. Maybe the NFL wants to send a wake-up call about scalping, and they're going to come down on Mike."

Owner Red McCombs has been made aware of the league's investigation, a Vikings official said. It is unknown whether Reggie Fowler, who has an agreement to purchase the team from McCombs, has been told of the probe. NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello would not confirm if there was an investigation into Super Bowl ticket scalping in Minnesota.

"We're not going to respond to questions about what NFL security looks into and what it doesn't look into," Aiello said, "but it's against league rules to sell those tickets for a profit."

Tice, the league's lowest-paid coach at $1 million per season, is entering the final year of his contract with Minnesota, and his job security was an ongoing issue all of 2004. Just last week, in a conference call with the Minnesota media, McCombs said he nearly fired Tice during the second half of last season, in an effort to shake up his slumping club, and specifically star receiver Randy Moss. It is also known that Tice was in danger of being fired if Minnesota had not upset Green Bay at Lambeau Field in the first-round of the NFC playoffs.

jspchief · 03-09-2005, 11:57 AM

Heh. Lowest paid coach in the NFL. A man's got to feed his family....

**dirk digler** · 03-09-2005, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspchief

Heh. Lowest paid coach in the NFL. A man's got to feed his family....

I know I bet his family is really struggling on that $500,000 salary plus all of his ticket scalping and endorsements. Shit I bet they don't eat but once a week.

Straight, No Chaser · 03-09-2005, 04:47 PM

Can you imagine the ribbing Red McCombs takes at the next owner's meeting?

LOL

---->

03-09-2005, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Straight, No Chaser

Can you imagine the ribbing Red McCombs takes at the next owner's meeting?

LOL

---->

Yeah - Red is making $300,000,000 from the sale of the Vikings. I'll bet he takes a ribbing.

KCWolfman · 03-09-2005, 05:05 PM

Why would a multi-million dollar coach need to scalp tix once a year?

What a dumbass.

jspchief · 03-09-2005, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCWolfman

Why would a multi-million dollar coach need to scalp tix once a year?

What a dumbass.

Becaue he's not a multi-million dollar coach.

It says he started it it when he was an assistant. I imagine you could turn 1k-2k per ticket. Even rich people like to make an easy 10-20k.

KCWolfman · 03-09-2005, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspchief

Becaue he's not a multi-million dollar coach.

It says he started it it when he was an assistant. I imagine you could turn 1k-2k per ticket. Even rich people like to make an easy 10-20k.

He hasn't been coaching for more than 2 years? I think he has. He is a multi-million dollar coach.

He doesn't get the best seats, so he is not getting the best prices. Seats for 2K went on first level 50 yd line in SD a couple of years back.

He organized the event and went to a great deal of trouble to collect tix and re-sell them, hardly "easy" money. It involved effort and stupidity on his behalf.

jspchief · 03-09-2005, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCWolfman

He hasn't been coaching for more than 2 years? I think he has. He is a multi-million dollar coach.

He doesn't get the best seats, so he is not getting the best prices. Seats for 2K went on first level 50 yd line in SD a couple of years back.

He organized the event and went to a great deal of trouble to collect tix and re-sell them, hardly "easy" money. It involved effort and stupidity on his behalf.

I hardly want to start a pissing match over this, but Tice was paid 350k per year for his first two years coaching. I believe he's making 500k now. Doesn't add up to "multi" millions.

As far as whether it's easy or not...I guess what I'll do for 10k is different than what you will.

Obviously he's stupid. That was pretty evident long before this story came out.

Stinger · 03-09-2005, 05:37 PM

Damnit Car.... er ... Damnit Ebay!!!!

**Bob Dole** · 03-09-2005, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCWolfman

He hasn't been coaching for more than 2 years? I think he has. He is a multi-million dollar coach.

He doesn't get the best seats, so he is not getting the best prices. Seats for 2K went on first level 50 yd line in SD a couple of years back.

He organized the event and went to a great deal of trouble to collect tix and re-sell them, hardly "easy" money. It involved effort and stupidity on his behalf.

Actually, he's not a multi-million dollar coach.

For some reason, $675k per year is stuck in Bob Dole's head.

Spott · 03-09-2005, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCWolfman

Why would a multi-million dollar coach need to scalp tix once a year?

Well it's not like his team is going to be in it, so he might as well sell them. Sadly, DV probably does the same thing with his.

BIG_DADDY · 03-09-2005, 07:09 PM

He needed the money dog.

**Rain Man** · 03-09-2005, 07:14 PM

In all sincerity, Tice has to be the stupidest coach in the league. I wonder if we can find the records of his Wonderlic score.

Ultra Peanut · 03-09-2005, 07:20 PM

Tice is such a dumbass.

03-09-2005, 11:53 AM
dirk digler Please squeeze Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Clinton, MO Casino cash: $3264644	SI: Tice investigated for Ticket Scalping This guy is deserves his meat head nickname. What an idiot. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ice/index.html Hot tickets Vikings' Tice target of Super Bowl scalping probe Posted: Tuesday March 8, 2005 9:07PM; Updated: Tuesday March 8, 2005 10:48PM Mike Tice Mike Tice acknowledged to SI.com that he met with league security officials Wednesday at the team complex. Rick Stewart/Getty Images By Don Banks and George Dohrmann, SI.com Minnesota head coach Mike Tice is being investigated by the NFL for allegedly heading up and profiting from a Super Bowl ticket-scalping operation within the Vikings organization, a violation of NFL rules that league sources say has been going on for years. Two investigators from the league's security staff, Larry Sweeney and John Keenan, were in the Twin Cities on Tuesday, questioning Tice in his office and speaking with Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton, as well as other club personnel. The pair left the team complex in the afternoon to meet with the team's director of ticket sales, Phil Huebner, at the Metrodome, where Minnesota's ticket operations are headquartered. The league requires all players, coaches, and club personnel who buy Super Bowl tickets to sign a release stating they will not re-sell them at a profit. Still, the practice of scalping Super Bowl tickets is widespread within the league and is an open secret in many NFL locker rooms. Yet the practice in Minnesota is unique, league sources say, because it has been orchestrated by the head coach. And, according to people familiar with the scalping operation, Tice began facilitating the reselling of Super Bowl tickets long before becoming the Vikings' head coach in January 2002. Tice coached Minnesota's tight ends and then offensive line beginning in 1996. "This started when [Tice] wasn't the figure he is now," said one team source. "I can't believe how rampant it's been. Stuff like this has gone on a long time. There's a pretty good amount of people involved. There could be a lot of people affected by this, not just in the NFL's view, but with the IRS as well." Tice acknowledged to SI.com that he met with league security officials Tuesday at the team complex, but said he told them he had nothing to do with the re-selling of players' tickets. "They were in there here talking to me and others about how we deal with our Super Bowl tickets, and how they're distributed,'' Tice said. "I'm confident when the league finishes looking at this, everything will come out fine. It's a shame assumptions are being made about my role in this. I did not approach any player about Super Bowl tickets as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.'' However, in mid-January, after the Vikings were eliminated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoffs, a team source said Tice organized the re-selling of Super Bowl tickets for players and club employees. (Each NFL player has the right to buy two Super Bowl tickets at face value, which this year was $500 and $600 depending on the location of the seat). Those who gave their tickets to Tice received $1,900, a mark-up of at least $1,300 per ticket, sources said. Last season, individuals brokering tickets through Tice received $1,100 per ticket, a former Vikings player said. "Tice has been turning around tickets for years and years," said one player who was with the Vikings in 2003. "He's been selling them to the same guy. He commits to a certain amount every year." Late in the 2003 season, Tice berated one Vikings veteran for asking teammates if he could buy their tickets, which he had hoped to procure for family members. Tice, one source said, accused the player of trying to "backdoor the head coach." Tice then successfully pressured some players to renege on their commitment and sell their tickets through him, the player said, even though Tice was offering slightly less money per ticket. "It was always understood that if you want it, here it is," one Vikings team source said of the opportunity to scalp Super Bowl tickets. "There was nothing different this year about how it worked." Sources around the league, including several coaches, said it is common practice within the NFL for players and assistants to scalp their Super Bowl tickets. On some teams, the income from the re-sale of those tickets is counted on by assistant coaches to supplement their salaries. "A lot of teams do it," said an NFL assistant who once worked for the Vikings. "Everybody can do it. Every team has a guy who takes care of moving the tickets. I'd hate to see it end because coaches have always used that as extra money. Coaches do count on that as a little extra deal. [Team] owners will probably stop doing it now, because they don't have to give us those tickets. "When I was there [in Minnesota], Mike was the guy. He had a guy somewhere who moved the tickets. I just never took him up on it because I was always scared I'd get my ass caught." Said another coach: "Mike's the wheeler dealer. But it's just stupidity doing it as a head coach. Maybe the NFL wants to send a wake-up call about scalping, and they're going to come down on Mike." Owner Red McCombs has been made aware of the league's investigation, a Vikings official said. It is unknown whether Reggie Fowler, who has an agreement to purchase the team from McCombs, has been told of the probe. NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello would not confirm if there was an investigation into Super Bowl ticket scalping in Minnesota. "We're not going to respond to questions about what NFL security looks into and what it doesn't look into," Aiello said, "but it's against league rules to sell those tickets for a profit." Tice, the league's lowest-paid coach at $1 million per season, is entering the final year of his contract with Minnesota, and his job security was an ongoing issue all of 2004. Just last week, in a conference call with the Minnesota media, McCombs said he nearly fired Tice during the second half of last season, in an effort to shake up his slumping club, and specifically star receiver Randy Moss. It is also known that Tice was in danger of being fired if Minnesota had not upset Green Bay at Lambeau Field in the first-round of the NFC playoffs.
Posts: 66,275

03-09-2005, 11:57 AM	#2
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	Heh. Lowest paid coach in the NFL. A man's got to feed his family.... __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207

03-09-2005, 04:47 PM	#4
Straight, No Chaser Veteran Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: AZ Casino cash: $3729209	Can you imagine the ribbing Red McCombs takes at the next owner's meeting? LOL ---->
Posts: 1,642

03-09-2005, 05:05 PM	#6
KCWolfman Fall down 7 times, get up 8 Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10004900	Why would a multi-million dollar coach need to scalp tix once a year? What a dumbass. __________________ How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words! Samuel Adams
Posts: 15,469

03-09-2005, 05:37 PM	#10
Stinger Bazinga Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Springfield, MO Casino cash: $4284507	Damnit Car.... er ... Damnit Ebay!!!! __________________
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03-09-2005, 07:09 PM	#13
BIG_DADDY THE RED MENACE Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texas Casino cash: $5088410	He needed the money dog. __________________ The diabolical genius of Marxism-Socialism is that it provides the emotional and intellectual road map for autocrats to persuade millions of people to support their own enslavement to government. ~Mark Levin April 15, 2019
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03-09-2005, 07:14 PM	#14
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3328491 VARSITY	In all sincerity, Tice has to be the stupidest coach in the league. I wonder if we can find the records of his Wonderlic score. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,405

03-09-2005, 07:20 PM	#15
Ultra Peanut v^V^v^V^v^V^ Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Holland* Casino cash: $10005177	Tice is such a dumbass. __________________
Posts: 39,518