The Dallas Mavericks will keep season-ticket prices the same per game next season in an effort to continue to rebuild their relationship with a wounded fan base 13 months after the infamous Luka Doncic trade.
Team president Ethan Casson told The Dallas Morning News there will “not be a $1 increase per game” for any season-ticket member in any area of the American Airlines Center for the 2026-27 season.
Casson said Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont felt “very strongly” about the decision to keep season-ticket prices per game unchanged. The rationale was based on the team underperforming on the court this season, Casson said, and because fans “have been through a lot,” a reference to fierce backlash to last year’s trade of Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We love the fan base,” said Casson, who joined the franchise in August. “They’ve been loyal. We didn’t have the year we wanted. They’ve been through a lot. We acknowledge that, and let’s keep everybody together.”
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Fan outrage was pervasive in the wake of trading Doncic for a package that included 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, who himself is no longer with the Mavericks. A month after the February 2025 late-night deal that rocked the NBA, the Mavericks said they were raising season-ticket prices by an average of 8.61% for the 2025-26 season, which only exacerbated fan consternation.
At the time, the Mavericks attributed the price change to “ongoing investments in the team and fan engagement.”
Against long odds, the Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery and selected Cooper Flagg in June with the top overall pick. Casson on Thursday stressed that they have the “next generational talent” in Flagg, who last month set a record for most points in a NBA game (49) for a teenager.
“We think the foundation is strong,” Casson said. “We’re going to add additional pieces. We’ve got financial flexibility, and this was that moment to tell our members that they mattered, that this is a journey that we’re going to go on together.”
And with the team on track to miss the playoffs, they are looking at another NBA lottery pick in a year in which the draft is expected to be one of the deepest in recent memory, at least among the top four potential players.
The Mavericks ranked third in the NBA this 2025-26 season for new season-ticket holders. But they are currently 21-37 during an injury-ravaged year that star guard Kyrie Irving will miss entirely because of an ACL tear suffered last March.
“We did not perform on the court this season anywhere near what any of our expectations were,” Casson said. “And when that happens, I think it’s important you acknowledge it. And more importantly, I think you reinforce how valuable your [season-ticket holding] members are to the success of this franchise.”
In November, the Mavericks fired beleaguered general manager Nico Harrison — the prime target of fans’ ire — amid the Mavericks’ sputtering start and Doncic’s scorching early-season play in Los Angeles.
And earlier this month, the Mavericks traded the oft-injured Davis to the Wizards along with Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum in exchange for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round and three second-round draft picks. It was a move intended to create financial flexibility to build around 19-year-old Flagg.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) tries to drive past Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia (12) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first half of an NBA basketball game at American Airlines Center, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Mavericks CEO Rick Welts and Casson informed season-ticket holders Feb. 16 that prices would remain flat for the 2026-27 season. They have until March 16 to auto-pay for renewal.
There will be 43 home games next season, which includes two preseason games, one more than this season. So while the overall price will be higher, the price per game will remain the same.
When trying to pinpoint ticket prices for the following season, typically a team’s leading executives for ticketing, data and analytics convene to forecast what the next season could look like in terms of revenue. Those insights then get presented to ownership to help guide them through recommendations.
“It was not a very long meeting,” Casson said. “This is what Patrick believes, and this is what he was committed to making sure we rolled out. And again, early feedback [from fans] has been really, really positive.”
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