Cardinals announce hilariously tone-deaf pricing change for 2026

The St. Louis Cardinals have punted on the 2025 season after trading Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz and Phil Maton at the trade deadline, and the outlook for 2026 appears gloomy as well. The Cardinals' woes have been reflected in their attendance. Normally near the top of the major leagues in tickets sold, the Cardinals are now 18th in the major leagues in that statistic.

There are explanations abound for why attendance has fallen so dramatically, including the price of ballgames and the crime in downtown St. Louis, but as Occam's razor says, the simplest explanation is likely the correct one: The Cardinals aren't winning, so fans aren't spending their money to watch them live.

Struggling teams generally have lower ticket prices so they can entice fans to show up to ballgames. That's basic economic logic. But the Cardinals appear to be flying in the face of this tried-and-true tactic, and it's not to the benefit of fans.

The Cardinals are reportedly raising their season-ticket prices for 2026.

According to a season-ticket holder who sent an email to the St. Louis radio show "The Morning After" on 101 ESPN, he received an email that indicated that the Cardinals are jacking up the price of season tickets by 15% next season.

Most fans' goodwill with the Cardinals has evaporated over the past couple of seasons, and this appears to be another kick to the groin of Cardinals supporters. The team isn't raising prices because it's increasing payroll and needs to offset the costs; if anything, payroll will shrink further as ownership blames the fanbase for failing to show up for a faltering product, thus necessitating that the Cardinals spend less money.

With the salaries of Helsley, Matz, Maton, and Erick Fedde off the books, and likely that of Miles Mikolas as well following the season, the Cardinals should clear about $50 million in payroll. There is no excuse for a price hike; this is simply the Cardinals pinching pennies to a degree that most fans have not seen in their lifetimes.

The person who emailed into the show said that not only are the Cardinals increasing their season-ticket prices, but they are requiring the renewal of the tickets by Sept. 5 instead of the normal deadline month of January. Are the Cardinals planning to sell even more in the offseason and worrying that they'd scare away any remaining season-ticket holders if they waited until after more players were dealt?

The Cardinals have long been the pride of St. Louis, but they have gotten absolutely everything wrong over the past several years. The fact that they're now trying to squeeze more money out of fans while not attempting to put a competitive team on the field is incredibly ignorant and insulting. But at this point, it shouldn't be a surprise.