Some Minnesota Vikings fans will probably be at the Detroit Lions’ Ford Field to support their team – thanks to the franchise itself.

The NFL has a real cracker of a game coming up at the end of the regular season. The Detroit Lions will host the Minnesota Vikings early Monday morning.

The two franchises are competing for first place in the NFC in week 18 and the accompanying bye week in the Wild Card Round.

Accordingly, a great deal is at stake for both teams – all stops are being pulled out to gain an advantage.

In the case of the Vikings, this means that Minnesota has purchased around 1,900 tickets for the away game on the secondary market. And that was probably at the proud price of almost two million US dollars.

Each ticket cost around 1,000 US dollars, the franchise took on the costs and then offered tickets to their season ticket holders for much less money.

Vikings speak of “uniqueness of the game”

Regular Vikings fans were contacted by email with the offer of purchasing tickets for around $200.

The ticket managers of the rival Lions only became aware of the unusual activity when they found out about the Vikings’ e-mails to their season ticket holders.

The Lions contacted the NFL, but were informed that the Vikings had not violated any rules in this process.

The e-mail from the Vikings to their fans said: “As a valued season ticket member, we would like to give you the opportunity to purchase seats in the lower section for the game against the Lions.”

“Given the uniqueness of this game, we wanted to offer our customers, employees, family members, season ticket holders and team partners the opportunity to attend this game,” team spokesman Jeff Anderson said in an official statement.

Vikings have fans behind them

The franchise emphasized that the tickets are intended for Vikings fans and should not be resold.

The seats are thought to be directly behind the visiting team’s bench, so the franchise is preventing communication on the sidelines from being disrupted by the home Lions fans.

The showdown on Sunday night will be the first regular-season game in NFL history in which two teams each have at least 13 wins, and the first in which two teams have a combined 28 wins.

The Lions (14-2) and the Vikings (14-2) will play for first place in the NFC, while the loser will get the fifth spot and will also have to play away in the Wild Card round.